Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warns Edinson Cavani he must continue to wait for Manchester United starting spot despite vital assist at Leicester: ‘It will have to be this way for a while’
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned Edinson Cavani he would have to be patient during the early part of his Manchester United career despite his stunning impact in the 2-2 draw at Leicester.
The Uruguayan created the second goal for Bruno Fernandes just five minutes after coming on as a substitute, though United had to settle for a draw when Jamie Vardy’s shot deflected in off substitute Axel Tuanzebe late on.
Cavani has started only one Premier League game since making his debut for United in October, after joining the club on a free transfer, and Solskjaer insists the former Paris Saint Germain striker must be given time to adapt to the pace of English football.
‘He has been out injured for a little while and played a full, physically-demanding game against Everton in midweek,’ said Solskjaer. ‘We decided to have him on the bench and he made an impact straightaway, with a great pass for the goal.
‘It will have to be that way for a while as he gets used to English football and the demands of this season but he made a great impact here and he has made a big impact in the squad.’
Though Marcus Rashford could have had a hat-trick, his opened the scoring with his 50th Premier League goal and was a threat throughout the game.
Had he been more accurate, though, United would have won. Rashford put a free header over in the second minute and then after the break was denied by Kasper Schmeichel when clean through, with the score at 1-1 thanks to Harvey Barnes’ 31st-minute equaliser. The England international was complaining of shoulder pain late in the match though his manager hopes it is not serious.
Solskjaer said: ‘Both as a player and person he has been absolutely brilliant. We are very proud of him as a person and a player. He was always a threat. We create chances for him and he creates them for others.
‘He felt his shoulder a bit after one of the Leicester players tugged his arm but hopefully it won’t be too bad as he completed a full sprint soon after that.
‘We feel disappointed. The boys are flat in the dressing room as we created enough chances to win. We defended well but they had one moment at the end where there was a great bit of movement from Vardy.
‘He got a bit lucky with the deflection but you can’t switch off against quality players. We created big chances and felt we deserved more from the game.’
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers added: ‘It was a very good game and a point was the very least we deserved. You will always be tested against that level of opponent.’
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