Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof acknowledged that he “needs minutes” after playing a full 90 minutes for Sweden in their match against Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.
Lindelof was reinstated to the starting lineup and served as captain as Sweden comfortably defeated Michael O’Neill’s team 5-1 in Stockholm. Previously, he had to watch from the sidelines during the weekend, as his teammates suffered a 1-0 loss to Luxembourg.
The 30-year-old, who is increasingly likely to depart Old Trafford when his contract concludes at the end of this season, has struggled to secure playing time this year, making only 14 appearances for United across all competitions.
Nevertheless, he has played the full 90 minutes in each of United’s last two Premier League matches, starting in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal and their 3-0 win over Leicester City earlier this month. These were his first league starts of the season.
Having not had much playing time this season, Lindelof expressed his satisfaction at returning to Sweden’s defense, stating that “it felt good” to have participated in another complete match.
Lindelof said: “It’s been a while. It felt good. It’s nice to play 90 minutes. I need minutes.
“We play with very high intensity in the national team, so it’s fun to hold for 90 minutes. It’s tough and a demanding way to play football.
“But we have to do that, too. It still felt like we solved it well, but it’s a little different sometimes to be so high up.”
Lindelof, who has admitted he wants to continue playing at the “highest level” in the event of him leaving Old Trafford, had not started a game for Sweden since a 2-1 win over Slovakia on November 16.
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