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Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made decision Gareth Crooks just 'couldn't work out'
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been heavily criticised this season.
Garth Crooks “couldn’t work out” why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued to start Scott McTominay before seeing the Manchester United midfielder’s performances the last two weeks.
McTominay has become one of the first names on the teamsheet this season for his consistent performances in the middle of the park.
The No 6 scored his second league goal of the season against Norwich in United’s 3-1 win on Sunday which was enough to earn him a spot in Crooks’ team of the week.
The BBC Sport pundit is in the process of digesting humble pie with his original assessment of McTominay, and said: “I've watched this lad a lot in recent weeks and couldn't work out why Solskjaer keeps playing him.
“He runs about a lot and is certainly not afraid to put his foot in - but a Manchester United player?
“Against Liverpool he was excellent and after his performance against Norwich he finds himself in my TOTW.
“He's also bright enough not to get involved in taking penalties for Manchester United. I think I might have misjudged him.”
McTominay’s opening strike at Carrow Road was United’s 2000th Premier League goal and the 21-year-old spoke about the performance to MUTV afterwards.
“For sure, that’s a record I knew about before the game - [that we were on] 1,999 [goals] and I’m delighted to get the 2,000th," McTominay said.
“It’s about pushing forward now and not getting carried away as a group and keeping that humbleness to show the same intent as we have in the last two games against Liverpool and Norwich. We did today and it showed as well.
“The understanding is there, you can see that in more and more glimpses now as we get further into the season.”
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial linked well throughout the game and both got on the scoresheet while also missing penalties.
McTominay said of the team’s attacking dynamism: “Anthony, Marcus and [Daniel James] are a trio you don’t want to come up against if you’re a defender.
“Obviously it’s important for myself to score so it’s a positive day.
“There’s been mistakes in there, obviously at the end as well so we need to learn and get better, but it’s a confidence booster as well.”