Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told talkSPORT he was delighted with Paul Pogba’s contribution from the bench during Manchester United’s victory over Everton on Saturday.
A Bruno Fernandes double eased some of the pressure on Solskjaer as United ended a terrible week with a 3-1 victory at Everton.
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The Portugal international has been the standout performer for the club since his arrival in January and he proved his worth again at Goodison Park with two goals in seven first-half minutes as the visitors had to come from behind yet again.
Victory avoided the ignominy of United’s worst start to a league season since 1989-90 and was a welcome boost after defeats to Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir in the last seven days as Fernandes made it 13 goals in 21 Premier League matches.
But it was far from plain sailing with centre-back Victor Lindelof, one of four changes from their embarrassing Champions League defeat, dominated in the air by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which was how Everton were able to open the scoring through Bernard.
However, substitute Edinson Cavani’s first goal for United in stoppage time gave the scoreline a more favourable outlook.
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Amid rumours about the Norwegian’s future at Old Trafford, he admitted to talkSPORT the character of his players after the disappointment of losing on Wednesday in Turkey.
When asked what pleased him most, Solskjaer told Declan McCarthy: “The character, of everyone.
“How dialled in everyone was after a difficult schedule. To be put up at 12.30pm was not fair, it’s not fair on the boys.
“It’s not fair for my players, I can’t really ask them for 100 per cent performance on a day like this in the times we are in, with the pandemic.
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“Having been in Turkey on Wednesday night, we came home at four o’clock in the morning on Thursday which is difficult.
“We started the game well; the first time they had a chance, they scored, the reaction was brilliant. In the first half, I thought we played some excellent stuff. Second half, we looked tired.”
While the manager may have eased speculation around his own future, the career of Paul Pogba continues to divide opinion.
The France international perhaps embodies the insistency of Solskjaer’s United, but the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ had nothing but praise for the World Cup winner after his cameo.
He added: “You have to think you want to win the next one, you also look to the other one and, of course, Scott [McTominat] and Fred didn’t play then because they were going to play this one.
“I thought Paul today, when he came on, he showed his character as well. He showed his quality and his strength that we could play the ball up to him, because we struggled in the second half.
“We were so tired, the rest of them who played in the week in Turkey, but Paul really freshened things up.”
Despite securing all three points, the livid boss slammed Premier League officials, saying he believes his United squad have been ‘set up to fail’, while calling the congested schedule a shambles.
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“We have been to Turkey, played loads of games this season already, we got back Thursday morning and we are playing Saturday lunchtime.
“It’s an absolute shambles. These boys deserve better.
“Luke Shaw has got injured because of it. It’s a hamstring which might be a long one. And Marcus Rashford might be struggling.”
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