Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed the role Edinson Cavani played in helping to brush off their Liverpool defeat last week, and admitted “it was time” after selecting his oldest ever eleven to face Tottenham.
Manchester United responded in style on Sunday when putting Tottenham to the sword in north London. United emerged with a critical 3-0 victory to ease the pressure on Solskjaer.
The Norwegian made several tactical and selection tweaks for the contest, notably switching to a back three. He also recalled veteran forward Cavani to the eleven to partner Cristiano Ronaldo up front.
The pair proved a handful for Tottenham’s back-line and both netted in the victory. And speaking after the match, Solskjaer made a claim Man Utd fans will love.
The Norwegian stated that recalling Cavani was an easy decision after he produced “probably the best performance anyone has put into a training session here” in the first group session after the Liverpool defeat.
Solskjaer also felt the experience of his team was critical, saying the “old men led from the front”.
“The experience came through – I was told that’s the oldest team I’ve picked for Man United and it was time for it,” he said (via the PA).

“I’ve been here more or less three years now as manager and Tuesday’s training performance by Edinson Cavani is probably the best performance anyone has put into a training session here. The old men led from the front.”

Speaking about Cavani’s relationship with Ronaldo, Solskjaer added: “They play well together, they have loads of respect for each other.

“Of course we’ve got loads and loads of talented players and to learn from those two, they’ve got to learn as quickly as they can because these two the work-rate they put in, the quality they put in is second to none.”