OLE Gunnar Solskjaer’s complexion has never been that rosy, but even by the standards of his usual paleness the Manchester United manager looked especially anaemic after the 2-2 home draw against Aston Villa. The Norwegian, it appeared, looked to have run out of answers, seemingly aware of his own managerial mortality in the face of growing pressure.
Indeed, the obituaries were already being written with tricky tests against Tottenham and Manchester City coming and the spectre of Mauricio Pochettino, now unattached following his sacking by Spurs, continuing to loom. A big week for Solskjaer was expected and so it transpired, but not for the reasons most predicted.
If Solskjaer is to make a success of himself as United manager he will surely look back at last week as something of a watershed. There was no Mark Robins moment, but back-to-back victories over Spurs and City have bought the Norwegian more time, and more faith, to prove that he is taking the Old Trafford club in the right direction.
Solskjaer:
“We've had chances in every single game. There are so many games I could go through that we should have won. We know that we have to get better results against teams that drop deeper. We'll improve on that.”#MUFC [Goal] pic.twitter.com/wvjlDG3lL9
— ManUnitedZone (@ManUnitedZone_) December 9, 2019
But while these performances and results came against the grain of recent form, perhaps we should not have been so surprised. After all, Man Utd have impressed in matches against The Big Six (and Leicester City) this season. In fact, they are undefeated in seven games against their closest rivals in all competitions. Last week wasn’t an anomaly, but a continuation of a trend.
They have beaten Chelsea home and away in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, also beating Leicester City and drawing against Arsenal and Liverpool – United are still the only team to take points off the runaway leaders this season and they might have claimed all three such was the dominance enjoyed over Jurgen Klopp’s side back in October.
Man Utd have consistently lifted their game for the big occasion this season. It’s against lower calibre opposition that they have let themselves down. The past two weeks provides a reflection of this, with Solskjaer’s side dropping points against promoted sides Sheffield United and Aston Villa before toppling Spurs at home and City on their own patch.
It’s somewhat reminiscent of the way Liverpool were in the early days of Klopp’s tenure. Given their current position as Premier League champions-elect with 15 wins from their 16 fixtures it’s easy to forget that it took Liverpool some time to get going under Klopp. They finished eighth in their first season with the German at the helm, showing glimpses of progress in between stretches of perplexing inconsistency.
Dressing room sources have told the MEN United is a 'happy club' and the players are especially delighted Solskjaer's idealistic approach of winning with attacking football through a homegrown core and key signings was vindicated against Spurs and City. #mufc pic.twitter.com/T1i48xuhIa
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) December 9, 2019
This was all part of Klopp’s process as he moulded Liverpool’s squad in his own image. It took him two full seasons for his ways and methods to truly take took at Anfield, and perhaps most notably for Liverpool to deliver him the players he needed. We can now see the product of that process, vindicating the patience shown to Klopp by the Merseyside outfit.
It’s time for Man Utd to back their man in the same way. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James all shone in the win over Man City, justifying Solskjaer’s strategy of targeting young, hungry and largely homegrown players in the transfer market. United must now accelerate that strategy as soon as the January window opens. Reinforcements are desperately needed.
The past week demonstrated the potential of what Solskjaer is trying to build at Old Trafford. Questions remain over his credentials for such a job, especially while Pochettino is free and looking for his next challenge, but there is a lot encourage the Norwegian. The use of Liverpool as somebody to emulate wouldn’t normally be tolerated for a Manchester United manager, but in this case Solskjaer has good reason to point to Anfield.
