Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed Edinson Cavani for his performances during training sessions last week.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained why he handed Edinson Cavani a starting berth for Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Cavani made just his second start of the new season this past weekend and made a huge impression, helping the Red Devils to a statement 3-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Uruguayan international pressed hard from the front, displayed great industry and work rate and capped the display with a well-taken goal in the second period.
Cavani had played a key role in Manchester United’s strong finish last season but has found game-time extremely hard to come by in the current campaign, mostly because of the summer signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been on a goal-scoring run since returning to Old Trafford.
Solskjaer, however, opted to pair up the two against Tottenham on Saturday, and it worked a treat for the 20-time English champions. In order to do so, the Norwegian manager overlooked Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, leaving the duo on the bench. Now he has opened up on why he decided to start Cavani on their trip to north London.
As quoted by the club’s official website, Solskjaer said, “I think Tuesday morning’s training session by Edinson Cavani is probably the best I’ve seen by an individual since I’ve come here and he led the line, he went as a good example for everyone how to go about changing the mood, changing the performance.”
Solskjaer also revealed what he thought about pairing Ronaldo and Cavani together at the top, saying, “Both of them have been really, really good. The two of them, they were told early on they were going to play up front as a two and they’ve been like two peas in a pod. They’ve been really close, and it worked. Two excellent goals by the two of them.”
Manchester United take on Serie A side Atalanta next in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night. And, it will be interesting to see if Solskjaer decides to stick with Cavani and Ronaldo in the lineup or switches things up.