Sweden coach says Victor Lindelof will be rested due to ‘brutal’ period for Manchester United defender
Last Updated: November 5, 2020 5:34 pm
Defensive headache
Back-to-back defeats in the Premier League and Champions League have led to defensive question marks surrounding Manchester United. Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf have all come in for criticism of late.
The loss in Turkey on Wednesday highlighted naivety in the buildup to Demba Ba’s opener. Players pushed far too high up the pitch, spatially unaware of the danger behind, they were punished en route to defeat.
35-year-old Demba Ba scores against Manchester United on a one-man counter-attack…
Yes, this really happened 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YCDqlFqbyj
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 4, 2020
So far, only two clean sheets have been kept between the league and Europe. Pressure has mounted on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Norwegian having been forced to haul off Axel Tuanzebe on Wednesday. Scott McTominay replaced the 22-year-old, despite Victor Lindelöf’s presence on the bench.
In turn, Solskjaer later confirmed that the Swede was dealing with a back problem: “Victor has got a bad back so he couldn’t play and Axel stepped in,” said the United coach. Odd that he was still included amongst the substitutes despite the affliction.
Brutal
With the international break now just a week away, Sweden manager Janne Andersson has warned that he will be forced to rest Lindelöf, along with other key members of his squad.
“With him [Viktor Claesson], and many others, the load level is different. Players like Marcus Berg, Kristoffer Olsson, Emil Forsberg and Victor Nilsson Lindelöf have had an almost brutal fixture list towards the end. We have to be very careful and responsive about those players when we gather together,” said Andersson.
Despite this, the coach also confirmed that the United defender, and a number of others, are recovering from their respective knocks:
“Filip Helander is back, has played and done well. Victor Nilsson Lindelöf is doing very well.”
Solskjaer’s combined £120 million-plus centre-back partnership may be under scrutiny. However, with a minimum of a couple of months until further reinforcement could be acquired, the best possible form will need to be induced from those currently plying their trade at Old Trafford.
See also: Arsene Wenger opens up on criticism he faced towards end of Arsenal tenure: ‘Very brutal’
Man United not prioritising centre-back signing in current transfer window
This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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