Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has moved to explain the decisions to sub off Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo vs Young Boys.
Man United lose to Young Boys
Manchester United were back in Champions League action on Tuesday evening.
The Red Devils would face a trip to Young Boys for arguably their easiest game of their 2021/22 Champions League group stage.
However, despite the Young Boys looking a weak side, they would actually steal a huge 2-1 victory from United.
Cristiano Ronaldo would, of course, fire Man United into the lead after just 13 minutes on the day:
From here, however, Man United struggled to add a second and mustered up just one more shot all game, which came in the 25th minute.
United also saw Aaron Wan-Bissaka shown a straight red card after 36 minutes, which would eventually lead to Young Boys clawing their way back into the game and netting a 94th-minute winner thanks to a poor back-pass from Jesse Lingard.
Why Solskjaer subbed Bruno & Ronaldo
Following the game, a lot of the chatter has surrounded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his decisions following the red card.
Switching to a back-five for half the game and taking Jadon Sancho off after 36 minutes did seem odd. But perhaps Solskjaer’s strangest decisions came in the form of subbing off Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronald, especially when Paul Pogba remained on the pitch.
Both are clear match winners for United and could have provided that piece of magic late in the game if they had stayed on.
However, Solskjaer has since explained why he subbed them off, citing the pair’s fitness and the desire to have Nemanja Matic’s experience and Jesse Lingard’s legs:
“The game had gone 70-odd minutes. They’ve both been running a lot Saturday and today.
“The astroturf takes its toll. We wanted Nemanja’s experience and Jesse’s legs.”
Quotes via Goal.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig betting tips: Champions League preview, predictions and odds
Liverpool vs AC Milan betting tips: Champions League preview, predictions and odds