Solskjaer grateful to Greenwood after Pogba failed to 'take it in the mush'

Manchester, July 23: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was indebted to Mason Greenwood for rescuing a draw for Manchester United against West Ham after Paul Pogba's costly first-half handball.

Pogba conceded a penalty for blocking a Declan Rice shot with raised arms, allowing Michail Antonio to put the visitors ahead at Old Trafford in first-half injury time.

Greenwood scored his 17th goal of the season to claim a point for a jaded-looking United, who went third in the Premier League, a point above fifth-placed Leicester City ahead of their meeting on Sunday.

Solskjaer accepted Pogba "should've took it in the mush" rather than react with his hands, but the United boss was full of praise for the "exceptional" Greenwood.

"He's bailed us out a few times and he's done it again. He's been absolutely top class since we gave him opportunities," Solskjaer told reporters.

Mason Greenwood - the teenager behind Man United's renaissance

"I think Cardiff City, last game of last season, was his first start and he was our best player in that game and he's just grown and grown in confidence and belief and he trusts himself. His talents, his qualities, his attributes, they actually were at the highest level.

"You see him in training, you expect him to hit the target. Given the chance he had first half and [Angelo] Ogbonna blocked it, that's also a very good strike, a fantastic hit on the ball. The kid's just going from strength to strength.

"You know when he's had a good sleep and when he's stayed up late playing PlayStation because he might not hit the ball as cleanly in training! What he did today, he does that time and time and time again, every time with finishing, you see an exceptional finisher and you're not surprised when it hits the back of the net. I've probably run out of superlatives for him because he's that good a finisher."

17 - No teenager has ever scored more goals in a single season in all competitions for @ManUtd than Mason Greenwood (17 - level with George Best in 1965-66, Brian Kidd in 1967-68 and Wayne Rooney in 2004-05). Esteem. pic.twitter.com/GiXnZsnZ5W

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 22, 2020

He added: "On the penalty, it's a natural reaction. Paul's held his hand up knowing he should've took it in the mush instead, but it's a natural reaction if that ball comes flying at you at a hundred miles an hour.

"It wouldn't have made a difference anyway."

The draw means United need only avoid defeat at Leicester on Sunday to guarantee a top-four finish, something that had looked highly unlikely midway through the season when they were eighth in the table and 11 points behind the Foxes.

Having seen his side lose domestic cup semi-finals to Manchester City and Chelsea this term, Solskjaer is looking forward to the prospect of a one-off, decisive match.

"When we started after lockdown, we had to go for it, we really had to go for it and go for goal difference, go for points, and the effort's been fantastic, and results have been fantastic," said Solskjaer.

"Of course, you'd like to win against Southampton, conceding in the last second and here today you concede a penalty in the last second of the first half. But we've given ourselves a fantastic opportunity and a great starting point for Sunday. We've gone out in two semi-finals and now we've got a final, so we've got to embrace that – finally we're in one!

"We pinpointed the Leicester game as, if we have a chance going there, beat them big, we'd be delighted, but then we caught up points, caught up goal difference, and we've given ourselves a fantastic opportunity, but we know we're going to play against a good team. They are very, very dangerous on different aspects, they can do different things tactically, so we'll enjoy the 24 hours extra we have between this one and Sunday and we'll be ready, physically and mentally."