Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explains Ronaldo, Fernandes substitutions

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained why he substituted Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes during Manchester United’s loss to Young Boys, adding his side will learn from the defeat.

With the game level at 1-1, the United manager replaced the Portuguese pair with Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard in the 72nd minute. Fernandes had assisted Ronaldo’s opener in the first half, with the visitors needing a goal in Bern.

It was a decision that puzzled pundit Paul Merson, who said on Soccer Special: “Young Boys were petrified of Ronaldo but Lingard plays how l used to play  he will come back and get the ball, and that’s not helping because you are down to 10 men already.

“You want the ball going the other way because if the ball goes the other way then your opponents can squeeze the game. That’s all Young Boys did: they pushed up to the halfway line because there was no threat behind.

“Without that threat, you aren’t going to win too many football matches. If you are going to bring Ronaldo off, bring Mason Greenwood on because he has the pace.”

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When asked about the changes in his post-match press conference, Solskjaer explained: “The game had gone 70-odd minutes, they had been running a lot, both on Saturday and today.

“The astroturf takes its toll as well and we wanted Nemanja’s experience to keep hold of the ball and Jesse’s legs.

Ultimately, the game was changed when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off in the 35th minute after a clumsy challenge on Christopher Martins, with Lingard’s poor pass leading to Jordan Pefok’s winner with the final kick of the game.