MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played down the VAR debate surrounding his side’s goal against Liverpool and instead praised the referee for his performance at Old Trafford.
Liverpool were left furious when Marcus Rashford’s first-half strike was given as they felt Divock Origi was fouled by Victor Lindelof in the build-up.
To compound matters, Liverpool’s Sadio Mane had a goal disallowed via VAR minutes later for handball, though the Reds did level late on through Adam Lallana to earn a point.
Solskjaer backed the officials’ decisions after the game and felt referee Martin Atkinson deserves credit for allowing the fiercely contested game to flow.
“I thought the referee needs praising,” Solskjaer said. “It’s not often we do that. He let it be a derby game, it wasn’t like you couldn’t touch anyone.”
On the controversy surrounding the opening goal, Solskjaer added:
It’s never a foul. I don’t think Keano (Roy Keane) would say that’s a foul.
Rashford’s strike looked to be good enough to earn the Red Devils all three points only for Lallana to snatch their great rivals a point with an equaliser five minutes from time.
Solskjaer was left frustrated at the manner of that goal, though he also praised his side for a performance that was a marked improvement from their timid display at Newcastle before the international break.
“It was an easy goal to concede,” the United boss told Sky Sports. “To concede a cross on the six-yard line is disappointing. I thought we had just started creating the counter-attacks so it’s disappointing.
“We have pace. Dan James and Marcus Rashford are exceptionally quick and they will cause problems for anyone. Those two and Andreas Pereira were very good and I’m pleased with how they performed their task.
Marcus’s movement all game was good – that was maybe one of his best games for us. He was strong and they are the kind of goals we want from him. We had a little video session yesterday and exactly that happened.
“It was a great response from the boys. We have a team that works for each other and maybe this will turn their season. They are disappointed because they feel we should have won. Our fans showed they can see what’s happening and we will get there.”
-Omni
