Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claims Manchester United are being given less penalties since Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the number of spot-kicks awarded to the Old Trafford outfit.
Solskjaer was furious after Cristiano Ronaldo was denied two strong appeals for a spot-kick in a 2-1 win at West Ham in the Premier League last weekend.
The Hammers got their revenge by knocking United out of the League Cup on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory, but Solskjaer’s men again felt hard done by when Jesse Lingard was not awarded a penalty.
Back in January, Klopp erroneously claimed United had been awarded more penalties in Solskjaer’s two-and-a-half years in charge than his first five years at Anfield.
“We just have to hope that we get what we deserve. We should have had three pens in the last two games,” Solskjaer said on Friday.
“I don’t know, but there was a certain manager last year 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 hope that they will make the right calls very soon.”
With another opportunity for Solskjaer to end his wait to win a trophy as United boss having slipped by, there is even more pressure on United to challenge for the Premier League this season.
United sit level on points with leaders Chelsea and Liverpool with 13 points from their opening five games, thanks in part to Ronaldo’s flying start since returning to Old Trafford.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored four goals in three games and Solskjaer has no concerns about the Portuguese being a marked man ahead of Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa.
“Cristiano has been used to that ever since he came to the club, but maybe more so in say the last 15 years of his career,” he said.
“His first few years, I think everyone wanted to try to kick him because they wanted to stop him, and then he became such a top player that all the teams would have to have an eye on him.
“His record shows already what an impact he has had with us and he is ready for that challenge. He’s so used to it, so no worries.”
AFP