Manchester United vs Southampton: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals half-time message to inspire win
United trailed 1-0 at the interval to Yan Valery’s stunning long-range effort
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told his players that the Stretford End would “suck the ball in for you” at half-time of Manchester United's dramatic 3-2 win over Southampton.
United trailed 1-0 at the interval after Yan Valery’s stunning long-range effort gave relegation-threatened Southampton a surprise lead.
Solskjaer’s side turned the game on its head in the second half through Andreas Pereira and Romelu Lukaku, though were pegged back by James Ward-Prowse.
Lukaku then edged United ahead once more two minutes from time, scoring from the edge of the area to move United back into the top four.
“The manner of it is like the old days,” Solskjaer said in his post-match press conference.
“I’ve been part of that so many times myself and I’m so pleased for the boys that they managed to claw three points out of this game.
“We spoke about it at half-time: just get some more urgency, get the ball in the box, play more forward and the Stretford End will suck the ball in for you.
“I don’t want to take too much away from Andreas and Romelu because they were great finishes but we felt that support is just part of this club, this history. We’ve done it so many times before.”
Solskjaer is no stranger to famous United comebacks, having scored the winning goal in the most famous of them all 20 years ago at the Nou Camp.
The Norwegian knows his side have the quality to turn a game around at any point, though admitted their victory could have come easier.
“You forget you’re tired [when you are chasing a winner], you just run and want that ball delivered around the box, because you know with the quality we have we might win the game.
“We’ve done it so many times but as a manager that’s not the way you want to enjoy the first 90 minutes. You want to be comfy.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments