Solskjaer’s Decision Vs Southampton Bad For New Man Utd Signing

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to take off Luke Shaw during his side’s 9-0 win over Southampton, was made to give the left-back a rest, with the 25-year-old notching two assists.

However, rather than bringing on Alex Telles in a straight swap, Solskjaer decided to give some minutes to Van de Beek and move Fred to left-back.

Explaining the decision, Solskjaer said: “He [Shaw] has played really well. Of course, we have Alex [Telles] who can cover and play well.

“With Luke, the intensity, the sprint, and high-speed running, we felt the spaces that appeared for him, if he played in the second half the same way he played in the first-half you always run a risk.

“And there were a few players we wanted to bring on.

“We wanted Anthony [Martial] to come on, we wanted Donny [van de Beek] to come on, we wanted Dan [James] to come on, so those were the changes we made.

“There have been a few good Brazilian left-backs around and we’ve got one in Alex.

“Of course, we needed to get minutes into some players and Fred’s got no problem with that.

“It was more about mentality than tactics, a little bit of tactics, but the mentality had to be right, play the game properly, do the right things, good habits, playing against one man less you can get another [player] over the last line, in behind. Just enjoy the game and play it properly, was the message.”

However, Telles has also struggled for game-time in the Premier League, making just one appearance in United’s last seven games.