Ole: Klopp moan cost us penalties

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER has blamed Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for the number of penalties awarded to Manchester United being halved. Solskjaer was upset that Cristiano Ronaldo had two appeals rejected at West Ham last Sunday and also felt Jesse Lingard should have been given a penalty when the clubs met again in the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The United manager fears that referees have been influenced by Klopp’s comments in January, when the Liverpool boss made a pointed reference to the number of spot-kicks awarded to their rivals. United have won five penalties in the 27 Premier League games since then — half as many as in the 27 games before Klopp’s complaint. ‘We just have to hope we get what we deserve,’ said Solskjaer. ‘We should have had three penalties in the last two games. 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. You just have to leave it to the refs and hope they make the right calls very soon.’ Solskjaer was surprised that VAR did not intervene in either of the incidents at West Ham. ‘It’s quite an achievement,’ he added. Solskjaer revealed that Edinson Cavani will return to the squad to face Aston Villa at Old Trafford this lunchtime, when David de Gea is set to resume in goal. The United boss believes De Gea’s decision to start pre-season early has helped revive his Old Trafford career and he indicated that the Spaniard is now established as No 1 ahead of Dean Henderson.