Rafael da Silva pushed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to fight after the Brazilian returned to Old Trafford on Tuesday night in Manchester United’s win over Istanbul Basaksehir.
United sealed a comfortable win against Turkish opponents in the Champions League when two goals from Bruno Fernandes, a penalty from Marcus Rashford and a late goal from Daniel James sealed a 4-1 win.
It was Rafael’s first return to Old Trafford since leaving United in 2015 and the Brazilian hugged Solskjaer after the final whistle.
The former United defender, who played 170 games during his stint at Old Trafford, also had a special post-game message for Solskjaer.
The 30-year-old posted a picture of his post-game hug with Solskjaer along with the caption, “Just hope the best for you and Manchester United keep fighting my boyfriend as you do.”
‘All the best Manchester United, thank you very much for the warm welcome before and after the game. Love you all.’
The win keeps United at the top of Group H and Solskjaer’s side now has a good chance of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League with two final group games against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig left.
“The group is still very open,” said Solskjaer after the game.
“We have nine, two against six points [PSG and RB Leipzig] and Basaksehir on three so we still need points to go through.
“One should probably be enough and three probably give you the win. Hopefully we can secure the points we need against PSG, but that’s another matter.
‘Edinson [Cavani]and Donny [van de Beek] did really well, both of them.
‘Of course I thought the whole team played really well. We found our positions and the pace with the ball was really good.
‘Of course we deserved the win after this first half. The second half is always different and it’s harder to keep up the pace when you win 3-0. ‘
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