Manchester United started their Premier League campaign a week after the Premier League began due to the club’s participation in the Europa League semifinal. The one-week buffer to the United squad didn’t seem adequate, as most of the players looked rusty without a proper pre-season. In his pre-match talk, Solskjaer has asked the fans to remain patient as the players need time to get going again.
United put in a dismal performance against the Eagles as the Red Devils lost their opening game of the Premier League season. Solskjaer started his pre-season training on 2nd September, but most of his first-team players joined training only a week ago. The likes of Pogba, Shaw and Fernandes were few of those who joined training only a week ago and thus it was obvious for them to be rusty and out of shape.
Solskjaer has asked for more patience in the fanbase and has said: “We need four or five games to get up to the standard we know we’re capable of, we haven’t had an opportunity to get those games in and we have to make sure, in these games, we get the minutes and make the players ready to start competing in the league again.”
He also added that “’Brighton away is going to be a very tough one so we’ll use this one, we want to get through, but it’s also minutes for a few. We’ll make some changes, of course we will. For some, it’s the pre-season and, for some, they’ve only been here for a week now, for different reasons.”
As reported earlier, it is expected for Solskjaer to make a few changes to the team that faced the Eagles last weekend. The manager must be wary about the threat Luton Town possess though as they are unbeaten in their last five games and stand first in the Championship table.
