United's attacking trio thrill Solskjaer

Manchester United's 18-year-old striker Mason Greenwood scoring the first goal of the night in the 3-0 Europa League win over Partizan Belgrade. The victory ensured that United have made it through to the knockout stage of the competition.
Manchester United's 18-year-old striker Mason Greenwood scoring the first goal of the night in the 3-0 Europa League win over Partizan Belgrade. The victory ensured that United have made it through to the knockout stage of the competition. PHOTO: REUTERS

LONDON • Manchester United's travails in attack have been well documented this season.

But after scoring twice in the first half at Old Trafford on Thursday night for the first time in nearly a year, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hopeful the goals will come if they keep playing on the front foot.

The hosts ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Serbia's Partizan Belgrade, securing passage to the Europa League knockout stage and while United will face tougher opponents, their front trio showed plenty of promise.

Playing together from the start for the first time this campaign, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood all netted to leave Solskjaer delighted and relieved with not having the need to win in their next fixture at Kazakhstan's Astana on Nov 28.

He said: "I'm very pleased with all of those finishes, all three goals were high class.

"Mason showed great composure... Anthony's was probably the skill of the night, and then I was very pleased Marcus scored with his left foot. He'll need more goals on his left because he is in that position often and he can go both ways.

"That is exactly how we want to play, even if Partizan gave us a bit more space than we are used to in the Premier League.

"We wanted to qualify as early as possible. We didn't fancy making that long journey to Kazakhstan, worrying that we had to get a win."

The only negative on the night for Solskjaer on the night was an ankle injury to Scott McTominay in the closing stages of the match.

The Scotland midfielder has started all 11 of United's top-flight matches this season, but is now a doubt for tomorrow's home game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

"It didn't look too good," Solskjaer added. "He went over on the inside of his ankle. He said he was going to be okay out on the pitch because he is tough, but then he had to come off. I hope he will recover for Sunday, but I am not sure."

REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 09, 2019, with the headline United's attacking trio thrill Solskjaer. Subscribe