Man Utd's Solskjaer warns players not to be 'conned' by Tottenham

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Anthony Martial was "conned" into reacting and getting a red card when Manchester United lost 6-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in the reverse fixture.

Published : Apr 09, 2021 20:08 IST

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told his players to keep cool heads when they play Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as they look to avenge a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Jose Mourinho's side in the reverse fixture.

France international Anthony Martial was sent off in the 28th minute in the humiliating October defeat at Old Trafford after retaliating to an elbow from Erik Lamela with a push in the Argentine's face.

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Solskjaer says Martial was "conned" into reacting and he does not want to see a repeat in London as his side looks to put its club record-equalling defeat in the Premier League era firmly behind it.

"We didn't look anything like (them) and we got conned into a red card and that's something we have to be aware of," Solskjaer told a news conference.

"We can't react, because in games, there'll be situations you'll be wound up, we've learnt from that.

"I think the players will remember that game with a lot of pain and their pride has been hurt. Pre-season was short... but we were so poor and I'm sure we'll see some players wanting to prove we're better than that," he added.

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United has made huge strides since the loss in October, moving up to second in the Premier League. The side also has one foot in the semifinal of the Europa League following Thursday's 2-0 quarterfinal first-leg victory at Granada .

But Solskjaer said there was plenty of room for improvement. "We'll never settle for second," he said. "We have seen the heights and we know what this club is capable of. It's taken time for us to be in this position and, hopefully, we can be better next season because this is below our ambitions," he added.

Solskjaer also said forward Edinson Cavani, who arrived on a one-year deal in October, is still undecided over his Manchester United future.

"It's not been an easy year, either for him or the rest of the world this season, so he still wants time to make his mind up," he said.

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