SAN FRANCISCO, January 05, (THEWILL) –Â Ahead of the semi-finals of the English Football League (EFL) Carabao Cup competition, Manchester United’s coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has thrown down the gauntlet to his charges to provoke them to success. The Norwegian said only victory will be welcomed going into the Manchester derby in the Carabao Cup, especially after losing three semi-finals last season and ending up without silverware.
Among those losses was a defeat by Manchester City at the same stage of the Carabao competition. United were dispatched 3-1 in the first leg at home before going out on aggregate after a 1-0 win at the Etihad home of their neighbours.
That was followed by losses to Chelsea at the semi-finals of the FA Cup and an exit blow against Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League competition, also during the semi-final matchups. This meant three opportunities to pick up their first piece of silverware under Solskjaer went begging.
With the congested calendar of fixtures, EFL semi-finals are no longer based on aggregates of home and away ties. As a consequence, Wednesday’s semi at Old Trafford is a one-legged affair. And, the United manager is convinced his team is better prepared for the challenge this time around than ever before.
Speaking ahead of their meeting, he underlined the weight of value his side have placed on qualifying: “It’s always a good question, how important is this game, and then I can answer – very! The semi-final is a chance to get to the final and for this team getting our hands on a trophy would be a very big step.
“We’ve developed a lot in the last 12 months since the last semi in the Carabao Cup. It’s not just learning to win semis, we’ve also earned the right to feel we can go all the way with our performances.
“We’re confident and going into the game in good form – there are no excuses. You play football to win and to get your hands on trophies. It gives you the hunger to get more.
“When you get to a semi you’ve done a lot of good work to get there and you play better opposition. We’ve improved immensely in a year since the last semi and even from when we were in Europe in August.
‘When you win games of football you don’t think about it being a semi-final or a normal game or a league game or a quarter-final, you just want to win it.’
When both Manchester sides met in the Premier League last month at Old Trafford, they played out a drab goalless draw. Solskjaer blames that partly on the fact that City were less reliant on a possession-based game and, like United, set up to counter attack and that similarity in playing styles from both sides ended up cancelling out each other.
The Norwegian explained further: “You never know what kind of system he (Pep Guardiola) is going to come up with, but you’ve got to defend really well against City.
“It’s hard to keep the ball in their half. You have to be brave, compact, trust your players and play out of their press. They’re one of the quickest ones to put the counter pressure on.
“The last game didn’t have the X-factor, maybe because they were set up to counter-attack as well. City weren’t as possession-based against Chelsea (on Sunday), they were more counter-attacking. We’ve got to be aware of that as well as the possession game.”
Solskjaer, who came close to being sacked from his job as results were not as expected and the team began to slide down the table, said results did not always tell the full story: “There have been some fascinating games and we feel we’ve got closer and closer, but you can’t control results.
“Sometimes results don’t show the whole picture of the game. Some of our counter-attacking goals in the wins we’ve had have been brilliant. Away in the league when we could have scored four or five in a 10 or 15-minute period, our counter-attacks were out of this world.”
United and City contend in the semi-final derby on Wednesday, January 6, with a place in a Wembley final up for grabs. The match will be held behind closed doors at Old Trafford due to Coronavirus restrictions. If the game is level at full-time, there will be 30 minutes of extra-time before a penalty shootout. if needed.
The EFL also has confirmed clubs in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup will be allowed to make up to five substitutions, providing a boost for both sides.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
