5 things Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to change at Manchester United

#3 Stick to using ball-winners in defensive midfield

Manchester United v Leeds United - Premier League

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

Leicester City v Manchester United - Premier League

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

Leicester City v Manchester United - Premier League

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.