Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes after the two prolific stars fired Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Granada.
Rashford put the Red Devils ahead in the 31st minute after caressing Victor Lindelof’s long pass and sliding the ball beyond Rui Silva.
And Fernandes doubled the visitors’ advantage in the final minute with a penalty, although Silva will have been disappointed not to keep the spot kick out after getting a hand to it.
The result puts United in the driver’s seat of their Europa League quarter-final and Solskjaer was especially delighted with the two goalscorers, who have netted 44 times this season between them.
“They have been exceptional,” the Red Devils boss told BT Sport . “They have been so good for us and they are so important for us.
“The first goal, a very good run by Rashford. He takes the ball fantastically and a fantastic finish.
“And Bruno, he’s so confident on penalties. Even though the goalkeeper almost saved it, it was enough to give us a good lead.”
(Image: REUTERS)
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But Solskjaer admitted it was not a faultless performance, as yellow cards for Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire mean the trio will miss the second leg.
“It was not a perfect night,” said Solskjaer. “Of course, we get three yellow cards and three suspensions for the next game.
“But a 2-0 result is a very good result. We know how difficult it is coming to Spain to get these kind of results.
“We have to play well to get them and I’m very happy with the result.”
Solskjaer was also asked how United will approach the second leg with a 2-0 aggregate lead and replied: “Same as always.
“We want to win every game. It’s still a young team, a learning team. We have to improve all the time. Football catches you so quickly if you rest. We can’t have any other approach.”
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