Solskjaer wary over Greenwood-Rooney comparison

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer distanced Mason Greenwood from comparisons to Wayne Rooney after the teenage forward starred in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over AZ.

United continued their December resurgence despite a lacklustre first half against their Eredivisie opponents, with Greenwood to the fore.

After Ashley Young opened the scoring, the 18-year-old striker fired home two sublime finishes either side of winning a penalty that Juan Mata converted.

All the goals came in the space of 11 second-half minutes, with Solskjaer’s men now seeded for Monday’s knockout-stage draw.

“He’s different class as a finisher,” Solskjaer told BT Sport. “In and around the box you expect him to get a shot off and on target. He’s so precise in his finishing.

“He’s good how he creates space for himself.”

Solskjaer was asked to draw parallels with another famous European night at Old Trafford, when an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney marked his Champions League debut with a hat-trick against Fenerbahce.

 @_MasonGreenwood just loves a goal at Old Trafford! That’s his fifth of the season here 

One of our own #MUFC #UEL pic.twitter.com/cMHt42ofnC

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 12, 2019

“No, no, no. He’s a different type of player, Mason than Wazza, but he must have enjoyed tonight,” he said.

“The thing is with Mason, he’s just going to look forward to Sunday tomorrow – he’s not going to rest on his laurels.”

Following 2-1 wins over Tottenham and Manchester City, Solskjaer heads into Sunday’s home match against Everton with the feeling his squad is going from strength to strength.

“It’s very good. A lot of things can change in a week, but for us we just want games coming. It’s a good group,” he added.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how this December goes because they’re growing into a good group.”