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Man Utd boss Solskjaer says in-fighting must stop following Rashford-Maguire spat
The Norwegian wants his players to stop expressing "frustration on the pitch" to the detriment of the overall "team spirit" at the club
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says in-fighting must stop at Old Trafford following the spat between Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire last week.
Rashford and Maguire hit headlines in the wake of United's 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday after being involved in a heated verbal exchange that went viral on social media.
Solskjaer addressed the incident ahead of the Red Devils' short trip to Manchester City this weekend, urging his players not to let their emotions get the better of them on the pitch.
What's been said?
The Norwegian head coach told Sky Sports: "Sometimes it has boiled over into frustration when it hasn't worked our way, we've got to stop that, the frustration on the pitch.
"We want to win but don't let it affect your desire to do well. Don't let it affect your confidence or the team spirit."
What sparked the row between Rashford & Maguire?
Around the 69th minute mark of United's stalemate with Palace, Maguire attempted to drive the team forward by playing a lofted pass through to Rashford, who was subsequently flagged offside.
The Red Devils captain could then be heard shouting at his colleague to "f******g stay onside", which sparked an angry response as Rashford snapped back "shut the f*** up, f*****g knobhead".
Maguire dismissed any bad blood between the pair after the game, telling The Sun: "You pick up these things as there is no crowd in the stadium.
"But we are always shouting at each other in games. I have full respect for Marcus and he has full respect for myself.
"We did not even confront each other after the game because it happens that much in training and in games."
Where are United in the Premier League table?
United slipped 14 points behind City in the Premier League title race after dropping points at Palace, and Leicester City leapfrogged them into second following their victory at Brighton on Saturday.
The Red Devils have only won one of their last five matches and must beat City on Sunday to get their season back on track, with Solskjaer well aware that his team need to kick onto the next level after re-establishing themselves as a major force.
"Of course, we are disappointed in the points we have lost lately," added the United boss. "We go into every game trying to win.
"This team has come a long, long way and of course we need to take the next step. But, say, six or seven months back no one would even mention the word title when talking about us.
"That makes me smile, it makes me happy that we have been performing better than people expected.
"We expect ourselves to win every game, we expect to go into this game and create enough chances to win."
