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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reignites war of words with Jurgen Klopp over penalties claim

Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are at odds over the number of penalties Man Utd have been awarded - GETTY IMAGES
Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are at odds over the number of penalties Man Utd have been awarded - GETTY IMAGES

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reignited his war of words with Jurgen Klopp by blaming the Liverpool manager for Manchester United being awarded fewer penalties this year.

United have been denied four strong penalty claims in their past three matches against Young Boys in the Champions League and West Ham in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

Klopp questioned the number of penalties United were awarded in the wake of Liverpool’s defeat at Southampton on January 4 and Solskjaer believes it is no coincidence his side have been awarded significantly fewer spot-kicks by referees since then.

United have had five penalties in 27 Premier League games since Klopp made his remarks - half as many as they were given in the 27 league matches before the German’s complaints.

“We just have to hope that we get what we deserve,” Solskjaer said ahead of United’s game against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime. “We should have had three penalties in the last two games.

“There was a certain manager last season who was starting to worry about us getting penalties and after that it seems like the decisions are more difficult to give.

“I’ve seen a big, big difference since then on. But we just have to leave it up to the refs and hopefully they’ll make the right calls very soon.”

Klopp was angered that Sadio Mane was denied a penalty in the Southampton game after going down under a challenge from Kyle Walker-Peters and responded by questioning why United won so many spot-kicks in contrast to his team.

“We cannot change. I hear now that Man United had more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years. I’ve no idea if that’s my fault or how that can happen.”

Solskjaer hit back by accusing Klopp of trying to “influence referees” and the Norwegian’s concern now is that the Liverpool manager’s comments have succeeded in doing just that.

Solskjaer blamed French referee Francois Letexier’s inexperience for failing to award Cristiano Ronaldo a second half penalty in the 2-1 Champions League defeat to Young Boys in Switzerland last week and claimed the Portugal forward was denied two “stonewall” spot-kicks during Sunday’s 2-1 win at West Ham.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium - Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium - Getty Images

The United manager was also aggrieved Jesse Lingard was denied what he felt was a “clear” penalty in the 1-0 Carabao Cup loss to West Ham at Old Trafford on Wednesday, when the England forward was pulled down by Mark Noble.

Solskjaer was particularly irked by the video assistant referee’s failure to ask referee Martin Atkinson to review his decisions not to award Ronaldo two penalties at the London Stadium on Sunday. West Ham were subsequently awarded a penalty that Noble missed in stoppage time after the VAR had asked Atkinson to review a handball by Luke Shaw.

“That’s quite an achievement actually - it’s quite an achievement,” Solskjaer said. “But we’ve got the feedback from the two West Ham league ones. The one in the [League] Cup is not VAR any more and anyone can make mistakes.

“As I said earlier, there has been a shift since concerns were raised by another manager on how many penalties we get. [But] we get what we deserve. We keep on playing. I don’t think it’s my job to talk about the referees but, of course, we have to keep playing and you get the decisions you deserve.”

Edinson Cavani is due to return to the squad against Villa after injury and Solskjaer says there could be games when he pairs the Uruguay striker and Ronaldo in attack together.

“It’s exciting to see those two together, I’m sure that will be a good partnership wanting to be on the end of things,” the United manager said. “We’ve seen some teams dropping deeper against us, not giving us as much space in behind and they’re two boys that you’d like to have in and around the goal when that’s the scenario in different games. I can see those two working well together.”

Solskjaer also believes goalkeeper David de Gea is reaping the benefits from cutting short his summer holiday in a bid to win back the No. 1 spot from Dean Henderson.

“He did call me this summer to end his summer holiday earlier and come back and start his pre-season before because he wanted to be ready and the best possible version of himself,” Solskjaer said. “Last season was a challenging one for David, he didn’t play as many games as he’s normally done because Dean came in and did very well.

“But David has really worked, he’s been so focused, physically he’s better, mentally he’s better and when you feel you’ve done the work and you get personal best in quite a few physical tests, it gives you more confidence and motivation and inspiration. David has come back with extra grit, the bit between his teeth, bright eyed and wanting to work.”