Solskjaer’s winning start at Man Utd continues in FA Cup
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer enjoyed a fifth successive win since taking over as interim manager of Manchester United when his side beat Reading 2-0 in the third round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The former United striker had already guided the Red Devils to a run of four Premier League victories since being appointed coach after Jose Mourinho was sacked last month.
That winning sequence continued against second-tier strugglers Reading, with the third round marking the entry into the FA Cup, the world’s oldest senior knockout football competition, of England’s top-flight clubs. United, last season’s losing finalists, were 2-0 up before half-time, thanks to goals from Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku but Reading had their chances against a still suspect defence, although Solskjaer had made nine changes to his team.
– ‘Wasn’t the best’ – “You can’t ask for more than going through but the way we played wasn’t the best,” Solskjaer told the BBC. “They controlled it in the first five minutes and we weren’t up to speed. But we made nine changes, so I made it hard for the boys because they hadn’t played together too much but we got the goals and managed to get through.” The only downside for United came when Alexis Sanchez suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem. “I hope it’s not going to be too bad – it’s the same hamstring that he’s been having trouble with, but we’ll see,” said Solskjaer. Mata gave United, 12-times winners of the Cup, the lead in unusual fashion in the 22nd minute. United initially had a goal disallowed for offside against Fred but referee Stuart Attwell, after a lengthy consultation with the video assistant referee, awarded the home side a penalty for a foul on Mata in the build-up. The Spanish midfielder then scored from the spot, sending Reading goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola the wrong way. Sanchez and Lukaku were both making their first United starts under Solskjaer and the pair combined to make it 2-0 deep into stoppage time at the end of the first-half. From Sanchez’s through-ball, the onrushing Lukaku rounded Jaakkola to score from a tight angle. Elsewhere, an all-Premier League clash saw Brighton win 3-1 away to south coast rivals Bournemouth. Brighton, beaten in a replay by United in the 1983 FA Cup final, scored with what amounted to their first attack of the game when Anthony Knockaert fired them into a 31st-minuted lead. Three minutes later it was 2-0, when Yves Bissouma’s long-range shot went in off the post. Bournemouth pulled a goal back through Marc Pugh’s fine effort from 20 yards out but Brighton restored their two-goal lead in the 64th minute when Florin Andone headed in from the Seagulls’ first corner of the game.
