Ole praises majestic Shanghai and Chinese Reds

Much has changed since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was last in China with Manchester United back in 1999, but one thing remains the same: the Reds are immensely popular in the Far East.

The squad arrived in Shanghai on Monday evening and was greeted by hundreds of supporters at the team hotel, as well as thousands who attended an open training session on Tuesday.

As has been the case throughout Tour 2019, during the previous legs in Australia and Singapore, Solskjaer and the players have been determined to spend as much time as possible with our passionate fans, posing for pictures, signings autographs and putting in plenty of face time.

During a press conference to preview Thursday’s International Champions Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur, Ole was full of praise when asked by a local reporter for his impressions of Shanghai so far.

“It's almost 20 years ago when I was here,” Ole told reporters in China. “I scored two goals, which was fantastic for me as a player. Of course I've changed since then and the city of Shanghai has changed as well. As I've said before in an event, it's a majestic city.

“It's got everything you'd want in a city and, for me as a manager now, to see all the fans outside the training ground, or the stadiums we've been training on, or at the hotel, we know that we have many, many fans here. So I hope that we can repay them by playing a good game tomorrow, but also by showing who we are as human beings when you sign autographs and take pictures with them.”

Shanghai has experienced a heavy amount of rain in the last 24 hours, but Solskjaer is not concerned about the pitch at Hongkou Stadium ahead of Thursday’s 12:30 BST kick-off against Tottenham.

“No I have not heard anything,” Ole said, when asked if the game could potentially be impacted. “We got a video from the staff that were here earlier and it was flooded, but now it's fine.

“Of course the heat has helped us as well. We can't do anything with what he decides upstairs on how much to pour down. I'm sure it'll be fine. I haven't heard anything. Everything has been spot on for us.”

Each answer in the pre-match press conference was translated into Mandarin for the local press and, at the conclusion of the media briefing, Solskjaer showed his class by instigating a round of applause for the hard-working translator, saying: “I can't really confirm what she said is right, but I think she deserves a clap, the translator. I'll keep the answers shorter next time!”