Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided insight into Manchester United’s penalty situation ahead of their Premier League meeting with Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils already have one of the best penalty takers on the planet in Bruno Fernandes, however, they’ve added another Portuguese spot kick taker to the squad with the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernandes has been extremely reliable from 12-yards since arriving at Old Trafford and it would seem harsh to remove him of his penalty taking duties.
But this is no ordinary case. Ronaldo is also world-class from the spot and fans will be keen to see him scoring goals in a Red shirt again.
It sounds like a potential tricky situation for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but he seems relaxed about it.
“I knew that question was going to come,” Solskjaer told reporters, as per The Mirror. “And, of course, I’ve had a chat with the two of them.
“We’ve got two players there that I’d trust with my life to put a penalty away and that’s a great position to be in.
“They’ll know via the conversations we’ve had and the conversations we’ll have before the games how we’re going to solve this. It’s going to be my decision what’ll happen. The two of them will keep on doing what they do when they’re asked to take the penalties.
“I’ve got Cristiano, Bruno, Marcus [Rashford], I’ve got players I trust to score every time they step up to take a penalty. I’ve had this conversation and they know my position on it. They know that I decide who is going to shoot the penalty if we get one.
“That’s not going to cause an issue. We’re here to win together. It’s not about my numbers or your numbers. It’s about us as a team and the decision is going to be mine.”
As difficult as it would be to take the penalty role from Fernandes, it would be equally difficult to shun Ronaldo when providing him with goals could be a recipe for success.