Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warns Manchester United must be ruthless in front of goal to win trophies

ByEurosport

Updated 09/02/2021 at 23:12 GMT

The Red Devils bounced back from the disappointment of conceding a late equaliser against Everton in the Premier League, but were made to work hard and needed extra time to see off West Ham and advance to the sixth round of the FA Cup. Scott McTominay continued his purple patch in front of goal with the winner.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted Manchester United need to show a ruthless streak in front of goal if they are to challenge for honours.

The Red Devils were left reeling by conceding a late goal in a 3-3 draw with Everton on Saturday, but bounced back to advance from the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over West Ham.

Despite having 17 shots and 62 per cent of possession, the Red Devils were forced to extra-time - with midfielder Scott McTominay sealing their passage to the quarter finals with the only goal on 97 minutes.

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Solskjaer was pleased with the win, as it keeps them in the hunt for three trophies - alongside the Premier League and Europa League - but feels they will need to do better in front of goal if they are to get their hands on silverware.

“I felt we dominated,” the Norwegian told the BBC. “I thought we were in complete control of the first half.

"In the second half it became more of a game. When it's only one nil and we are wasteful, anything can happen to us - we knew that from the last game (Everton). It's just about finishing the game off but we're through. We're in the hat and that's what we wanted.

I think we got about 15 to 17 shots in the end but we need to be more clinical. We should've finished the game off earlier and finished in 90 minutes but sometimes it doesn't happen.

"We needed to have a good result and a good feeling after today because we were low after Everton game. It's hard to take but they were really focused and did the job."

McTominay’s goal was his third in as many games, and Solskjaer is not surprised by the midfielder’s output in the opposition box.

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"Scott used to be a striker and I think he finishes with authority,” Solskjaer said. “You see that he doesn't mind being in those positions. He just smashed the ball into the net."

The quarter-final draw takes place on Thursday evening.

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