Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fears Manchester United have become a target of frequent tactical fouling as he called for more protection for his players.

United face Manchester City in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, having complained last season about the Premier League champions’ use of tactical fouls.

But Solskjaer believes the strategy is being more widely adopted against United as a means of trying to stop them attacking at pace through players like Daniel James and Marcus Rashford.

“That’s a big thing and sometimes I look at the referees and I look at our games and even if they are just little fouls there have been teams who have stopped us with those little fouls, which has stopped us showing how good we are when we attack,” the United manager said. “But I didn’t raise it [the subject of tactical fouling] this time, you did!”

Solskjaer believes James, in particular, has been the victim of some rough treatment this season that has gone unpunished.

The Wales winger was on the wrong end of some heavy fouls during United’s 2-0 win at Burnley over Christmas and, in United’s 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium last month, City midfielder Fernandinho escaped a yellow card after scything through James, when advantage was played by referee Anthony Taylor.