Manchester United News: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Relieved After Struggling Against Brighton

Manchester United battled to a 3-0 victory over Brighton on Wednesday. The match was closer than what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer anticipated but he was relieved to come out with the win.

“We’re through, so that’s the job in the cup,” Solskjaer said, the Guardian reported.

Despite a slow start, Manchester United was able to pick up the pace care of Scott McTominay scoring the opening goal in the 44th minute.

“We deserved it in the end. Some quality moments from some of our players gave us the goals. We defended well. After a difficult start, we’ve picked it up. The confidence comes, the sharpness comes. Not a classic performance but scoring goals is always nice,” Solskjaer continued.

Several key plays from Juan Mata were crucial for the Red Devils as the 32-year-old stepped up offensively.

“Juan created more or less every moment in this game,” Solskjaer said.

Solskjaer emphasized that Mata is a valuable member of their squad. This was highlighted by his goal at the 73rd minute of the game that completely shifted the match's momentum. It was a backheel pass from Donny van de Beek that set up the chance for Mata to score for Manchester United.

Seven minutes later, Paul Pogba scored the final goal, ending the score at 3-0.

“They have a great manager who tries to play attractive football, they change also the system in the game, so you have to be alert,” Mata said.

Although Manchester United struggled, Mata indicated that their team was able to make adjustments towards the end of the match.

“Today I think we played really good. We created chances in the second half, we had even more chances to kill the game. So we’re happy today,” Mata added.

The former World Cup winner pointed out that he’s ready to play when he’s needed to be on the pitch.

“I have plenty of football left in my legs and in my mind,” Mata concluded.

This win propels Manchester United to the quarterfinals of the 2020 Carabao Cup. The next match on their schedule is an English Premier League bout against the Spurs on Sunday at Old Trafford.