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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (file pic).

'He parks the bus right in front of De Gea' – Van Gaal criticises Solskjaer again

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League and two points adrift of the top four.

LOUIS VAN GAAL said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “parks the bus right in front of David de Gea” as he criticised the Manchester United manager again.

Solskjaer signed a permanent three-year deal last month after overseeing an upturn in results at United, however, the Red Devils have struggled since.

United — sixth in the Premier League and two points adrift of the top four — have lost five of their past seven matches in all competitions following a 4-0 Champions League quarter-final exit to Barcelona.

Former United boss Van Gaal, who initially questioned Solskjaer’s approach after replacing Jose Mourinho in December, insisted the club favourite is defensive in his tactics.

I can see how Ole had some impact in the beginning, because United were ninth in the table when he took over and the team was nothing,” Van Gaal said via the Mirror. “United had been playing anti-football, as I call it, but don’t think that Ole isn’t afraid to park the bus either — he is more defensive than you think.

“I have been watching the team, because I always look at United still, and Ole parked the bus against Arsenal. He did it against Tottenham in the league. And at stages against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the Champions League.

“He plays against all the big teams like that. The emphasis is more on defending than on attacking or wanting to play dominant football. I actually call it parking the bus. Ole does it not just outside the 18-yard box. He parks the bus right in front of [goalkeeper] David de Gea.”

Van Gaal — who was sacked by United after winning the FA Cup in 2016 — added: “When United play that way, they play 4-4-2 and play counter-attacking football with Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku. They are gambling on the speed of those two because they are faster than their opponents when they get the space. Rashford’s pace is incredible. You don’t catch him when he breaks away.

“But if Man United want to be a dominant force in Europe again — and in England — they have to have a different playing style.

The problem as a foreign manager is that you find out that the English football culture is different from Germany and Spain. In those countries, you work on things in training. In England, everything is done by playing matches.

“They get fitter or gain stamina by playing lots of matches. It is a culture you cannot change easily. I wanted to change things, but it proved very difficult.”

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    Mute sams theman
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    Apr 18th 2019, 10:46 AM

    quite like the old crown paints jersey

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    Mute Ings on Fire
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:56 PM

    @sams theman: the adidas Carlsberg sponsored jersey should be modernized and made as are home kit that kit scared away teams it was raw

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    Mute Kian
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    Apr 18th 2019, 11:31 AM

    That keeper kit is fantastic

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    Mute Bar
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    Apr 18th 2019, 10:44 AM

    Meet the new jersey, same as the old jersey!

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    Mute Seaniecp
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    Apr 18th 2019, 11:03 AM

    It’s not bad. I don’t like the way the sponsor logo is white and the crest and NB logo is yellow/gold. Looks strange. It clashes a bit. All white for me id prefer. Anywho. Looks to be last year with new balance. Massive money nike deal looks to be coming. Which is good. Having the same jersey as all nike sponsored teams….. not so good.

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    Mute Jack Ryan
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    Apr 18th 2019, 12:02 PM

    @Seaniecp: Bring back Adidas and the three stripes!

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    Mute Colm Connolly
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    Apr 18th 2019, 12:14 PM

    @Seaniecp: the sponsor logo is far too high

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    Mute Conor Pocock
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:51 PM

    @Jack Ryan: new balance jerseys have been top notch

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    Mute Seaniecp
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:58 PM

    @Colm Connolly: ya I guess it is really

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    Mute Brendan Moriarty
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    Apr 18th 2019, 10:55 AM

    Paisley-era shirts were all v-neck. This isn’t. #Fail

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    Mute sams theman
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    Apr 18th 2019, 11:00 AM

    @Brendan Moriarty: in fairness they do say it’s inspired by the jersey not copied

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    Mute Peter Govan
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:20 PM

    @Brendan Moriarty: He would of been 100 this year, read into it .

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    Mute Seán Ó'Sionúir
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    Apr 18th 2019, 12:17 PM

    Can’t wait to see what monstrosities NB have planned for this terms away shirts

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    Mute Joe O'riordan
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:38 PM

    No level of mawkish sentimentality is high enough for this crowd…

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    Mute sams theman
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:45 PM

    @Joe O’riordan: https://the42.ie/4591563

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    Mute Willy Motley
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    Apr 18th 2019, 1:45 PM

    @Joe O’riordan: delicious salty tears

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    Mute Carnac
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    Apr 18th 2019, 2:14 PM

    @Joe O’riordan: it’s called tradition.

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    Mute Marty Morrisey
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    Apr 18th 2019, 5:00 PM

    @Joe O’riordan: Spurs new stadium, beautiful, Hazard to Madrid beautiful, Chelsea cash nipple run dry, bea…..

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    Mute Karl Cranny
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    Apr 18th 2019, 5:48 PM

    It looks OK to me, very like the one from last year (which I loved), but with the pinstripes now white. That goalie jersey should have been the away kit IMO.

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