Angry pundit claims Manchester United should be docked six points for fielding ‘B team’
Manchester United showed a disrespect to the Premier League and should be docked six points for fielding a weakened team against Leicester City on Tuesday, according Trevor Sinclair.
United made 10 changes to their side from the starting line-up from Sunday’s victory at Aston Villa. Consequently they were beaten 2-1 by top-four rivals Leicester at Old Trafford. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clearly had one eye on Thursday’s tussle with Liverpool after a torrid schedule of matches. By the time United have finished against Jurgen Klopp’s men on Thursday night they will have played four games in eight days, a fixture list rival boss Klopp has labelled “a crime”.
Liverpool boss Klopp had plenty of sympathy for Solskjaer on Wednesday and said he would have done the same.
Amad Diallo made his first start for the club while Anthony Elanga made his first senior football appearance. Brandon Williams and Axel Tuanzebe also made rare starts.
And former Man City winger Sinclair did not agree with the weakened line-up and says United should be punished with a points deduction.
Sinclair told talkSPORT on Wednesday: “Without being disrespectful to the players that played, they made ten changes, this is their ‘B’ team.
“I think that’s disrespectful and it takes away from the top four race.
“The teams that are going to suffer from Man United’s lack of due diligence. The ones who could miss out on the top four, are Chelsea possibly, Liverpool, West Ham and Tottenham.
“I think there needs to be a punishment for Man United. Three points isn’t enough because that doesn’t affect anything.
“I honestly feel the way they put out this team, the way they didn’t safeguard their stadium, I think a six-point deduction should be given to Manchester United.”
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More to come from Cavani
Meanwhile, Solskjaer insists that Edinson Cavani has only scratched the surface of his talents during his first season at the club.
The Uruguayan striker has made a fantastic impression since signing for United in October as a free agent. He has scored 15 goals and set up five others in 34 appearances, getting better as the season has progressed. Indeed, he netted four goals across both legs of the Europa League semi-final victory over Roma.
However, Cavani banished all such worries by penning a new one-year deal at Old Trafford.
As a result, the focus has turned to what he can offer next season. Solskjaer, though, insists that he will get better after largely using this campaign to get back up to speed following his time as a free agent.
“Well, I think we’ve seen the last few months what we can expect and what we’ve wanted from him,” the manager told reporters (via manutd.com).
“Next season, he’ll come ready. He’ll be fit when he comes pre-season.
“This year, he had seven months of no football to catch up and that’s not easy. He’s had a couple of niggles because of that.”
READ MORE: Man Utd ponder using ‘decoy buses’ as fears over Liverpool fixture heighten
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