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When it was announced in December that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was going to take over Manchester United as the interim boss, no one could have predicted what we have seen from the Red Devils in the Norwegian's 3 months tenure.
Manchester United were 11 points behind the top 4 when Solskjaer took over. Right now, they are 4th in the league and just 3 points behind Tottenham Hotspurs. What a turnaround it's been. Recently, they upset the odds by beating Paris Saint-Germain in an incredible tie in the Champions League to progress into the quarterfinals.
The Norwegian has done almost nothing wrong since taking over. In this article, we discuss the 5 most important things that Solskjaer has done to make Manchester United a scary outfit.
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They are as follows:
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#5 Rejuvenated the midfield and defense
So many times under Jose Mourinho, you would have heard people screaming that Manchester United's midfield and defense isn't doing enough. Many times even the former Red Devils manager admitted that the quality of United's backline isn't good enough.
Manchester United under Solskjaer though has been brilliant defensively as well as in the midfield. Paul Pogba, now given freedom to roam about on the pitch has looked unstoppable. He's scoring and assisting for fun, something he never did under the former Portuguese manager. Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic have been wonderful for United.
They are the ones doing the dirty work on the other side of the pitch, while the French World Cup winner wrecks havoc in the opposing half. Victor Lindelof now has truly established himself as number 1 center back of Manchester United. The Iceman, as he is called, has really had a calming effect on the backline and he hardly played under Jose Mourinho, the manager who signed him.
Chris Smalling returning from injury has been fantastic too. His recent performance against Paris Saint-Germain is a testament to it. Solskjaer has given confidence to these lads and told them how good they are, in contrast to Mourinho, who always found a flaw, even if there wasn't one.
#4 Brought back the Manchester United way
Under Mourinho, Manchester United hardly seemed to play youngsters in their lineup. And whenever he played one, he would always moan about not having first-team players for a match. This did nothing but lessened the confidence of the young lads breaking through the ranks at the Theater of Dreams as it is called.
Under Solskjaer, the Red Devils are showing just why they call Old Trafford, the Theater of Dreams. Tahith Chong, James Garner, Angel Gomes, and Mason Greenwood have already had their debuts for Manchester United and it's been 3 months only.
Manchester United has always been about giving youngsters a go. Sir Matt Busby started it, Sir Alex Ferguson continued the tradition with the Class of 1992. But nobody followed that. Sometimes Louis Van Gaal played them, but nobody has given them the confidence that the Norwegian is giving currently.
He brought on Chong and Greenwood against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc Des Princes in a big Champions League night. This would have given so much confidence to these youngsters and just think about the experience they would have had after that.
#3 Brought back that spirit of never giving up
Remember the 1999 Champions League final when Manchester United were outplayed by Bayern Munich for about 80 minutes in the match and were losing 1-0. On came Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham who made it 2-1 in 'Fergie time' as they call it. That spirit of the treble-winning 1999 squad is what Solskjaer has brought with him.
That attitude of never giving up, never losing hope and getting the job done. That is what Manchester United do, make comebacks when nobody expects them to. Solskjaer had confidence that Manchester United could beat PSG when nobody believed. He believed his squad could do the unthinkable. That spirit of never giving up is what makes Manchester United one of the greatest clubs in football.
What happens is that when your manager has so much belief, that positive vibe just gets transformed onto the players. They made a comeback against Burnley 2-0 down, made a comeback against Southampton 1-0 down and now PSG. That is what the Red Devils are all about. Because of that, now nobody would rule out Manchester United and now the fans believe as well that they could turnaround any scoreline.
#2 Drastically changed the style of play
Manchester United under Mourinho had a very pragmatic style of play. Caution before risk was the mantra for the Portuguese boss. But under their Norwegian boss, The Red Devils seem to take more risk and free-flowing football.
In many of Solskjaer press conferences, the Norwegian has emphasized the fact that Manchester United is all about taking risks. Clearly, that is shown on the pitch. In his very first match, Manchester United scored 5 and their 3rd goal by Anthony Martial was a proper old school Manchester United goal, filled with swagger and arrogance.
They don't keep all of the possession, but what they do with the ball is what matters. Those old school Manchester United counter attacks can be clearly seen. For example, see the goals against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs and Chelsea. All of them have been pacy, direct and slick counter attacks.
Manchester United under the Norwegian is looking a much more fearsome outfit. Right now, no defense would like to face an attack of Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard.
#1 Breaking Records
And this one for all the football fanatics who like statistics. Solskjaer is simply breaking records in his tenure at Old Trafford and it's just been 3 months. He beat Sir Matt Busby's record by winning his first 6 matches in charge of United.
Then he broke the Premier League record for the most points won in the first 10 matches with 27 points. Then he beat Sir Alex Ferguson's record of winning most consecutive away games and the run will reach 10 if they beat Arsenal on Sunday.
Manchester United on Wednesday became the first team in the Champions League history to progress after conceding two goals at home in the first leg. Romelu Lukaku has now scored two goals in 3 consecutive matches, which was last seen in 2006 and that was done by Cristiano Ronaldo.
This proof of breaking records is what will get Solskjaer the permanent managerial spot. This question is for Manchester United fans:
' With Ole at the wheel, tell us how good does it feel'?
