Wednesday evening saw a hugely entertaining match between Manchester United and Atalanta.
It was a story of two halves, as the Serie A side went into the break 2-0 up. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were poor during the first 45 minutes, but not quite as bad as will be insisted, and probably better than some other performances recently.
The second half was a different story as Manchester United showed a huge determination to overturn the deficit and win. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo made the result 3-2 to the home side, and their Champions League situation is now looking a lot better.
As ever, there were complaints from some fans on social media about Donny van de Beek not getting a chance, despite those who came on helping to turn the game on its head.
The 24-year-old has had 141 minutes of football so far this season, and recently showed his frustration by having a little strop on the bench, which involved throwing his used chewing gum to the ground.
The manager has been quoted by Voetbal International as saying, with a smile: “It’s wiser to throw away your chewing gum and not to swallow it, we learned that as children. And giving your chewing gum to someone else is not possible in these corona times either. Sensible, so I could see he was throwing it away.”
After that dollop of sarcasm, Solskjaer added: “When you see our team, you know we have good players. I hope for Donny that he gets his chances and then takes them. Now I didn’t need him, but I know I can always count on him.
“He’s still trying hard, but it’s hard for him. I understand that. He is disappointed and frustrated, but he works hard every day and does it with a big smile.”
