Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Mason Greenwood Must 'Perform Every Day' to Earn Game Time

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged Mason Greenwood the perform more consistently if he's to break into the first team on a regular basis.

Solskjaer spoke after Greenwood opened the scoring in United's 3-0 win over Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's match with Brighton & Hove Albion, Solskjaer said, per ESPN FC's Rob Dawson:

"Mason is going to have a very big career, but sometimes it's not the right time to play him.

"He knows why he hasn't played as much. He needs to learn the man's game. He's gone up from the U18s last year, now he's training with the first team every day, and you can't just turn that switch on and off.

"You've got to perform every day if you are going to be accepted by a group like this."

The coach also hailed the 18-year-old's composure in front of goal, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone:

After Marcus Rashford had squandered several promising chances early, Greenwood broke the deadlock after 21 minutes on Thursday (U.S. and UK only, respectively):

Anthony Martial and Rashford got on the scoresheet themselves to make sure of the three points.

Although Martial's excellent solo goal was the highlight of the match, Greenwood did produce another impressive moment of quality:

Greenwood's goal was his third for United in his fourth senior start this season, following two previous starts in the Europa League and one in the Carabao Cup.

He's made eight outings in the Premier League, but all of them have come from the bench.

Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette is hoping the teenager will start to play a greater role for the team in the league:

Rashford, 22, may be further along in his development, but Greenwood already appears to be a more clinical goalscorer, as Blanchette observed.

Thursday's match was only the third time this season in all competitions that United have found the net more than once. 

Consistency is often an issue for younger players while they develop their games, so it may not be realistic to expect Greenwood to be firing on all cylinders each week, but he's shown enough to warrant more time on the pitch.