Donny van de Beek was an unused substitute for Manchester United in the dramatic late victory against Villarreal in the Champions League group stage.
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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated that he “understands” the frustration of Donny van de Beek after the midfielder was an unused substitute in midweek. After Villarreal opened the scoring, Alex Telles equalised for the Red Devils in a dramatic fashion in the Champions League group match. With the Reds seeking for a late winner, the manager brought on Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani, and notably Brazilian midfielder Fred replaced Alex Telles, filling in at left-back. The goal eventually arrived through Cristiano Ronaldo and the assist came from substitute Jesse Lingard. It meant van de Beek had to stay on the bench.
A week ago, van de Beek had enjoyed a good performance in spite of defeat, as West Ham won 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup. But he has struggled for game time since. Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game against Everton, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted van de Beek is only providing “positive energy” to the team. When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was told that Donny van de Beek didn’t look too happy during the game against Villarreal, the manager replied, “You know, I manage a squad full of international footballers. Competitive footballers who want to make a difference, want to play.”
“They all want to be on the pitch, of course they do. Donny was ready to come on, as all the players should be. I’ve been a sub more than anyone at this club, probably. I must have the record appearances as a sub. You have to be ready all the time. I’ve not been happy a few times. Alex was coming off as a left-back and Fred did that job well. I understand his frustration, of course.
“Every player is keen to play, but that’s got to be filled into energy and some determination for when you come on and then you show me. That’s not just Donny but all the players. I got a squad full of internationals and if we are going to be successful together, we need to have positive energy. We can’t have sulkers. Donny has never, ever affected his team-mates negatively, I want to have that said. As soon as I see players affecting negatively, I’d probably be a bit firmer as well.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer feels that United have to start the game against Everton the way they finished their midweek victory against Villarreal. “We’ve done that so many times at this club: come back at the end of tight games, difficult games. We played against a very good team and we dominated possession. We were a bit too open on the counter-attack, we’ve got to accept that. We have to defend better,” he added.
“But the boost and energy you get in the group after a win like this has to be built on. Then again, it’s a very, very quick turnaround. It’s a different turnaround from last year when we played Wednesday night [against Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey] and Saturday morning. Still, the players are not going to get caught out. We’ve got to start like we finished on Wednesday night.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was asked about how can the team continue being dominant in the opposition half but also keep the door closed at the back. He explained: “That’s the challenge that we’re facing more and more. That’s what we’ve got to be better at. We want to be in that position; that players give us that respect. We need to win the ball quickly, make better decisions, as I’ve said, win the ball back quicker… there’s so many things that you’ve got to do right. Lock it down, be organised behind the ball.”
“The transitions game in football… with pitches, how nice they are now compared to 10-20 years ago, as well. The ball moves so rapidly up and down that pitch. Sometimes it looks like a handball game! It’s win it and rush forward, get a finish off and start again. As I said before the Villarreal game, the Aston Villa game had 45 minutes of effective playing time, which is one of the lowest I’ve seen in any game that we’ve played. We need to build more pressure in their half, [with] more movement, of course. There’s loads of things. We can discuss it all day long.”
