Football

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Manchester United have ‘enough good centre-backs’ amid calls to strengthen defence


Solskjaer is happy with his defensive options (Picture: Getty Images)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he is happy with his centre-back options at Manchester United, despite their defence coming under fire of late.

The Red Devils narrowly edged a 3-2 win over Brighton on Saturday to pick up their first win of the new Premier League season, needing a Bruno Fernandes penalty deep, deep into stoppage time to do so.

Brighton had the better of the opportunities over the 90 minutes, registering 18 shots on David de Gea’s goal, with Solly March consistently finding himself in acres of space at the far post.

Fernandes scored a late, late penalty (Picture: Getty Images)

United’s defence was also called in question following their 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season, with Victor Lindelof coming under fire for his shaky performance in particular.

Club legends including Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand have both urged the Red Devils to buy a top centre-back.

However, when asked in his post-match press conference if defence is an area he might yet look to strengthen in the transfer window, Solskjaer said: ‘We’ve got many defenders here and I put Eric [Bailly] on to bolster the defence, following the runs of [Leandro] Trossard and [Neal] Maupay,

‘For me, we’ve got enough good centre-backs here at the moment.’

‘When you concede chances and concede goals, there are two different things you can look at – it’s either the team shape, or are there any individual mistakes,’ the Norwegian added.

‘We’re not in our best shape of form, our shape isn’t there, we’re not sharp enough to stop crosses or follow the runs.

‘We’re a little bit behind, that’s more structural mistakes than individual mistakes. I thought Victor [Lindelof] did well today.’

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