LINDELOF SHOWS LEADERSHIP QUALITIES
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Victor Lindelof displayed leadership qualities against Barcelona on Wednesday night that highlighted improvements since he took charge.
In the previous round at Old Trafford, the Reds reacted badly to conceding an early goal and were soon 2-0 down and in need of the most amazing of turnarounds in France to get through.
When VAR intervened to decide Luke Shaw's disallowed own goal should stand, Lindelof helped his team-mates regain their focus in the Barça game and avoid a repeat of suffering further damage when the chips were down.
“After they scored, we settled down,” Ole said at his post-match press conference. “I thought Scott [McTominay], Fred and Paul [Pogba] did that for us. You see the way Victor, as well, brings everyone together when they score.
”Of course, we remember the PSG game and, for 10 minutes after we conceded the first goal at home, we were all over the place. This time, that didn’t happen. We got together as a group and it gives me a clear indication that we are learning and we are improving.“
Solskjaer believes United still have a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals and meeting either Liverpool or Porto in the last four, with the Merseysiders 2-0 up from the first leg at Anfield.
Although Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was not really tested, Ole knows things could be different at the Nou Camp.
“I think they [Barcelona] will be wary,” he added. “Today, as well, it showed that we did put some pressure on them at times and got wide with loads of crosses into the box. We just couldn’t fill that box enough.
”We have to take more chances and release Paul or Scott or whoever from midfield to help the strikers try to score goals. But we’ve scored goals at the Nou Camp before from corners and crosses!“
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