From what some have described as a ‘tactical masterclass’ from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Champions League, to uninspired performances against Chelsea and Arsenal from his Manchester united side this season, what has gone right and wrong for the Red Devils.
There was a sense of optimism around Old Trafford at the start of the season, but a lot hope seemed to be dashed when the club failed to bring in Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and instead saw the free transfer of 33 year old Edinson Cavani come in as the marquee summer signing.
Things went from bad to worse for United, suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace in their first outing of the season. However, one positive from that game was the appearance of Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek, who came off the bench to score his first goal for the club.
between Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Old Trafford (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
Although life looked good for van de Beek, he since has struggled to make an indent in Solskjaer’s side, failing to start in the league, coming off the bench five times and didn’t feature at all against both Chelsea and Everton.
At the back end of the 2019/20 season, a midfield three of Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic was used frequently, but the latter two have also struggled for game time this season, with academy graduate Scott McTominay and Fred, playing as pivots in front of the back four.
Manchester united have never lost a game where Fernandes, McTominay and Fred have played as a midfield three, which could suggest why Solskjaer utilises them so much, although the decision to constantly play Fred and McTominay has come under fire by supports, suggesting that it’s not strong enough for where United want to be.
One man who has impressed this season is David de Gea, although conceding 14 goals in eight Premier League games, including six against Spurs, many fans seem to think he has re-found his form which saw him be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Someone who had seemed to have lost all form was captain Harry Maguire. After the summer he endured in Mykonos, there was question marks if that would have affected his game, and it seemed it did.
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The most expensive defender in history looked shaky, lacking in confidence, with many fans demanding for him to be dropped and have his captaincy replaced by Bruno Fernandes. All this was topped off by his short appearance in England’s 1-0 defeat to Denmark where he picked up two yellow cards in the space of just 31 minutes.
However, since then he has managed to regain some of his form which persuaded the Red Devils to pay big bucks for him, with impressive performances against Newcastle United and Everton.
Then there’s Marcus Rashford, or Dr Marcus Rashford MBE to be correct. The Manchester born winger has received plaudits for his actions both on and off the pitch this year, receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester as well as an MBE for his work combatting child food poverty in the UK, forcing the government to make one U-turn on free school lunches, as well as setting up a petition for free school meals across the October half term as well as the Christmas holidays, which has received over 1,000,000 signatures.
This, combined with some impressive performances, most notably against PSG, scoring yet another late winner against the Parisians, all be it in less controversial circumstances this time around, as well as coming off the bench to score a 16 minute hattrick against RB Leipzig, the fastest hat-trick from a Manchester United player since Solskjaer scored four against Nottingham Forrest in their 8-1 win in 1999.
It’s for these reasons why Rashford is becoming a fan favourite, not just among United supporters, but across the whole of English football, with Liverpool’s Andy Robertson saying that he could “be the first Manchester United player to get a standing ovation” at Anfield.
So why have things gone so right yet so wrong for Solskjaer and united this season. The Baby-Faced Assassin has predominantly used a 4-2-3-1 formation but outperformed PSG manager Thomas Tuchel and Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann by using a 5-3-2 and a 4-4-2 diamond respectively, showing he does have some managerial nous about him, something people have been quick to judge him on.
One thing for clear is that when his backs against the wall, his players will step up and perform, seen last season with impressive back to back wins against Spurs and local rivals Manchester City, as well as a solid performance in their 3-1 away at Goodison Park this season, thanks to an inspired Bruno Fernandes performance.
How long Ole has left at the helm is uncertain, with Mauricio Pochettino reportedly being contacted to succeed Solskjaer, one thing for certain is that until the day comes, United fans will continue to back the hero of ’99.
Jacob Frain Thats Sport 
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