MANCHESTER United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not worried about the special attention defenders are giving Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 36-year-old superstar has scored four goals in three games in all competitions since his return to Old Trafford, and Solskjaer shrugs off questions about defenders targeting the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I think Cristiano has been used to that since he came to the club. In the last, say… 15 years of his career,” Solskjaer said during his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at home to Aston Villa.
“In the first few years, everyone was trying to kick him because they wanted to stop him. Then he became such a top player that all the teams would have to have an eye on him. His record shows already what impact he’s had on us and he’s ready for that challenge. He’s ready for that challenge, he’s used to it, so no worries, we’re a team.
“We know we’re more than just Cristiano and the players I have got to choose from, I’m sure they would also enjoy if they [the opposition] had too much of an eye on Cristiano. It might be possibly space for others.”
Solskjaer then provided a fitness update on Edinson Cavani, who has played only once as a substitute this season.
“He’s in the squad for the Villa game. He’s been training and now he feels ready to contribute,” Solskjaer revealed.
“Of course, he came on against Wolverhampton then he got a slight strain in the international break when we had a game. He’s ready again. He’s worked really hard, like he always does and hopefully he’ll have an impact like he had last season.”
United have not had any penalty in five Premier League matches this season, despite some strong claims, including two in last week’s 2-1 win at West Ham.
Solskjaer believes the complaints from rivals last season, especially from Jurgen Klopp, might be playing on referees’ minds.
He added: “We just have to hope we get what we deserve. We should have had three penalties in the last three games. I don’t know but there was a certain manager last year that started worrying about us getting penalties and after that it seems like decisions are more difficult to give.
“Surely, I’ve seen a big difference since then. We just have to leave it to the refs to make the right calls very soon.”
Despite not playing at their best, Solskjaer’s side are third in the Premier League table with 13 points, behind the top two only on goal difference.
The Norwegian hopes his team can keep winning.
“Yeah, it is early doors but it’s important the first two months ahead of the international break to get a head start,” he said. “So far, 13 points, that’s a decent return. We’ve scored quite a few goals. Still things to work on and there will be bigger challenges ahead but we’ve laid the foundation to build the momentum.
“That’s’ what we hope to do against Aston Villa. Their first game was a defeat, of course, but since then they’ve hit form and they deserve more points than what they have got.”
The team have struggled defensively in spite of their good points return, keeping only one clean sheet from seven matches in all competitions this season.
While he insists that he has confidence in his attack to often outscore the opposition, Solskjaer admits his side need to improve at the back.
“I’d rather score four and concede one or score five and concede one, or two and concede one than win 1-0, of course,” he noted.
“We’ve conceded four in the first five league games, not too bad. We’re still working on cohesion with Raphael [Varane] coming in, so work it’s a in progress. Of course, We want to have clean sheet to build performances on as well. We know we’re going to score goals with the forwards we’ve got. Hopefully, we can answer with a clean sheet on the weekend, who knows? It is being worked on, of course.”
