United to face Solskjaer’s hometown team as part of pre-season build-up

Manchester United will travel to Norway for a pre-season friendly against manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s hometown team Kristiansund on July 30. United were assured of a Europa League group stage place – so avoiding the headache of the qualifying phase which would start towards the end of July – following Manchester City’s FA Cup final win over Watford last weekend. It has now been announced that Solskjaer’s side will take on Kristiansund at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. #MUFC are heading to Oslo this summer for pre-season friendlies! 🇳🇴 — Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 23, 2019 United’s newly-promoted women’s side are also set to travel to the Norwegian capital, where they will face Valerenga at the Intility Arena the following day. “This match will be really important in terms of our preparation for the new season,” Solskjaer said. “We want to hit the ground running and give ourselves a chance to challenge once the new campaign starts and the best way to do that is with some momentum behind you.” Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium is the venue for United’s pre-season clash with Kristiansund. (Martin Rickett/PA) United’s pre-season is scheduled to get underway in Western Australia when they take on Perth Glory on July 13 at the Optus Stadium before a clash against old rivals Leeds four days later. They then travel to Singapore and Shanghai for fixtures against Inter Milan and Tottenham respectively on July 20 and 25. After their brief trip to Solskjaer’s homeland, United are due to face AC Milan at Wales’ Principality Stadium on August 3. Topics Kristiansund, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Premier League, Man Utd What happens next for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gets his dream job as permanent Manchester United manager The background to Solskjaer’s United deal Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is at the wheel and steers Manchester United to victory Villa boss Dean Smith: Jack Grealish will cost someone a hell of a lot of money Moore to talk to UEFA boss about ticket allocation Dundee Utd and St Mirren play out goalless stalemate in play-off final first leg Union Berlin draw with Stuttgart to boost bid for Bundesliga place Bury owner makes illness claims but promises to speed up sale of club 7 new rule changes are coming to the Premier League – but are they good or bad? Tottenham star ‘will be a Real Madrid player’ after the Champions League final – report Manchester United 1998/99: still England’s greatest side Quiz! Can you name the title winners of these five European leagues since 1990? Ranked! The 8 best captains in Premier League history