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Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. They are currently going through a lean patch and all eyes are on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he leads his side into a testing set of fixtures.
It will be quite an achievement if they come out of it relatively unscathed given the poor form they've showcased over recent weeks. They have a world-class squad but there is a lack of cohesion going forward and the team is far from being defensively formidable.
It's do-or-die for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
A section of the Manchester United fanbase is already asking for Solskjaer to be replaced by a more experienced tactician. However, the board is reportedly still backing the manager. Even though their recent record has been poor, there is no doubting the fact that Solskjaer has done a great job at Manchester United.
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He needs to make sure all the work he's done over the past few seasons doesn't go to waste. In order to do that, he needs to make some big decisions. On that note, let's take a look at five things Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to change at Manchester United.
#5 Solskjaer needs to use his squad better
It's always easy to say this in hindsight but Harry Maguire should never have started the game against Leicester City. He was severely off pace and at fault for nearly every goal the Foxes scored as Manchester United fell to a 4-2 loss over the weekend.
Solskjaer could have called upon Eric Bailly. Sure, the Ivory Coast international has an erratic streak in him. But he would have been a lot sharper than Maguire, who was returning from a calf injury he picked up in the last week of September.
The Manchester United manager keeps rotating his starting XI which eats at the stability of the side. Bafflingly, however, he seems reluctant to rely on players like Eric Bailly and Donny van de Beek.
Alex Telles is another case in point. The Brazilian scored a wonderful volley against Villarreal and his confidence would have been up after that game. Instead of using him for a second consecutive game, Solskjaer immediately went back to using Luke Shaw. The Englishman was out with a minor injury he picked up a week ago against Aston Villa.
#4 More efficient pressing higher up the pitch
Manchester United suffer every time they come up against a side that presses high up the pitch. They still struggle to play out from the back comfortably when they are up against players who hound them relentlessly. Leicester City's opening goal came from a terrible mistake Maguire committed while trying to build from the back.
Meanwhile, Manchester United allow their opposition plenty of time on the ball in their half. Their forwards rarely press opposition defenders and don't show any urgency until the ball progresses towards the final third. As a result, opposition players are allowed the freedom to probe and find spaces they can exploit.
#3 Stick to using ball-winners in defensive midfield
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gets a lot of stick for using the double midfield pivot of Scott McTominay and Fred. The criticism largely stems from the reasoning that neither McTominay nor Fred are great at distribution.
But the fact of the matter is that Manchester United are much more defensively solid when those two are on the pitch. Fred relentlessly chases down opposition midfielders and with him on the pitch, the Red Devils defend with intensity.
McTominay needs to work on his spatial awareness but he brings a lot of energy to the side. As we saw against Leicester City, the midfield pivot of Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba spells disaster. Neither of them are quick or good at winning the ball back.
Pogba, in particular, should not be playing in defensive midfield. For example, he made zero tackles in the game against Leicester City. The Frenchman was dribbled past three times and committed six fouls in total. He also won just two out of 13 ground duels and lost possession 12 times.
No team is going to win when one of their midfielders plays like that and despite all the criticism that 'McFred' gets, they are Solskjaer's best bet in midfield.
#2 Stop relying on Cristiano Ronaldo
We're not sure if there is a clause in Cristiano Ronaldo's contract at Manchester United which requires him to be deployed in every single game. Ronaldo just doesn't do enough when Manchester United don't have the ball.
He doesn't press and that's quite possibly a way of conserving energy but it's in stark contrast to what Edinson Cavani brings to the side when he is on the pitch. Granted, Manchester United are not known for using a high-press but they could do with more intent being shown higher up the pitch.
With Ronaldo on the pitch, United are affording far too much space and time for the opposition to play through them. This is a team that was settling down well into a system and now they're being forced to reconsider how to maintain their shape.
As a result, the midfielders are being forced to cover too much lateral space because there is no urgency being shown uptop. This opens up far too much space between midfield and defence and that is why, time and again, United seem too vulnerable every time they lose possession.
#1 Revert to a fluid front three
Manchester United showed great form in attack last season when they were using a fluid front three. With Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, the wingers seem to consistently be positioned out on the flanks and Manchester United's attack is far too predictable.
Neither Greenwood nor Sancho are great crossers of the ball. Ronaldo loves to attack the box and wait for crosses. Both Greenwood and Sancho love to cut inside and the system is simply not working.
Now that Marcus Rashford has returned to the fray, Solskjaer should start rotating his frontline. Edinson Cavani, Rashford, Sancho, Greenwood and even Martial are all players who can change the course of a game single-handedly.
All these players are also extremely mobile and have an eye for goal as well. If Manchester United need to go back to being effective on the counter-attack, they need to switch things up front and throw runners in there.
With Bruno Fernandes backing them up, there is no reason why they won't be difficult to defend against every single time they break on the counter.
