LONDON รข€¢ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may yet rue being unable to beef up his defence, should Manchester United fail in their bid to make the Premier League's top four.
Today, at Leicester, they will face Harry Maguire, a centre-back Jose Mourinho wanted to sign before the start of this season. The board's refusal to sanction a move deepened divisions and the fallout ended with the manager's December sacking as the team struggled.
Caretaker manager Solskjaer, publicly at least, appears less concerned about the lack of defensive signings but a shortage of quality in that area remains an issue. Leicester's pace in attack may well cause problems and he knows it.
"They've beaten Manchester City and Chelsea over the past couple of months, so it will be a tough game," said the Norwegian. "They are a team full of energy and pace in attack, with Jamie Vardy, Demarai Gray and James Maddison.
"And they defend well when they drop back. It's hard to break them down. It will be a challenge."
Last Tuesday, in the 2-2 home league draw with Burnley, their defensive problems were exposed and they needed a late fightback.
Mourinho was again proven right about his assessment that his four senior centre-backs, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, were not up to standard. They have kept just four clean sheets in 24 league matches.
Solskjaer preferred Jones and Lindelof as his central pairing, with Bailly as a stand-in.
The 45-year-old has proven in the past that he can solve defensive issues given time.
In his two spells as manager of Norwegian club Molde, their goals-against record improved after his first season, helped by wise investment in the transfer market.
But despite becoming the first Red Devils boss to start with eight wins, six in the league and two in the FA Cup, he may not be kept on beyond this season.
One man who should be around is Anthony Martial, who has just signed a deal that commits him to the club until at least June 2024, with the option for a further year.
Solskjaer has challenged him to follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: "You can't just rely on what you do now.
"I speak about my experience at this club with Cristiano and what Anthony can achieve. I talk about Cristiano's career, what he's made, how he's got there."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
LEICESTER V MAN UNITED
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Man City ready to pounce on any Liverpool slip-ups, says Guardiola Agency 15 Jan 2019 07:33 Guardiola: "We've done incredible numbers after last season, but one team has done better than us so far.
Man City ready to pounce on any Liverpool slip-ups, says
It gave DPMM an opening as the Brunei side climb up to second. DPMM have a game in hand and are 7 points behind the defending champions. Win their game in hand and it is only 4 while the top 2 clashed in their next meeting and any result other than a win for Tampines will benefit DPMM.
Pele recovering well after kidney stone operation
There was never any question that Queen stood to benefit from the release of Bohemian Rhapsody, whether the film was a flop or a phenomenon, Queen would surely make out. Even still, BoRhap's box office and awards season success went far beyond anyone's expectations for a music biopic.
๐ฐ๐ด๐จ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฌ. ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ. - ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ข. A QUEEN IN THE MAKING - Wattpad
Impressive Burnley fight back to beat Bournemouth Saturday, April 6, 2019 9:16 pm Burnley made a big step towards securing Premier League survival after coming back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 3-1 away as their striker Ashley Barnes scored at both ends in an action-packed contest on Saturday.
Impressive Burnley fight back to beat Bournemouth 3-1
Griezmann on target again as Atletico edge closer to Barca World Cup winner has eight goals, helping Simeone's side to register their sixth win in seven league matches By AFP
Griezmann on target again as Atletico edge closer to Barca
MADRID: Antoine Griezmann struck again as Atletico Madrid kept the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga by beating in-form Getafe 2-0 on Saturday. Griezmann now has eight goals in as many games, his latest helping Atletico register their sixth win in seven league matches. The only dropped points came in a respectable draw away to Sevilla.
La Liga: Antoine Griezmann On Target Again As Atletico Madrid
It will be a homecoming of sorts for the 34-year-old Ronaldo who lived a stone's throw away from Atletico's training centre. Juventus signed Ronaldo because of his Champions League credentials. No player owns as many Champions League titles as Ronaldo who has won five, four with Real Madrid and one with Manchester United.
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Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial both injured in Manchester United's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain Man Utd's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea, Liverpool matches : The Standard
Football: Man United's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea
League Two Newport's manager Justin Edinburgh has dedicated his team's shock 3-1 League Cup win over Championship Brighton to Byron Anthony. Anthony, who was captain for the night, suffered a
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener March 23, 2019 ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AFP) - Memphis Depay dazzled for the Netherlands with a brace and two assists as they cruised past Belarus 4-0 in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier early yesterday despite having to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men.
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/03/21/depay-fires-dutch-past-belarus-in-euro-2020-qualifying-opener/
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener AFP March 21, 2019 AFP No Comments Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) - Memphis Depay dazzled for the Netherlands with a brace and two assists as they cruised past Belarus 4-0 in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday despite having to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men.
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener
Martial and Lingard both limped off during the 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday and are set to miss the FA Cup fifth round tie with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday and the Premier League clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford six days later.
Man Utd's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea, Liverpool matches
Guardiola praised his side's battling qualities after the game, but also admitted that the absence of VAR cameras was a factor in Man City's goals. As quoted by The Sun, the City boss said: "If it was not a penalty and if our third goal was offside, then I am sorry. "But you have to ask the authorities why VAR is not here today.
sport news 'I am so sorry': Pep Guardiola apologises to
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