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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed a 3-1 win at Everton on Saturday, his third Premier League win of the season.
It says everything about Manchester United today that, while discussing the search for consistency with journalists in preparation for his team’s trip to Everton, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to stop and offer a clarification: “What I mean it’s doing it right consistently, not the other way around. “
After a week of mounting pressure and uncertainty about their future on either side of an embarrassing loss at Istanbul Basaksehir, Solskjaer and United have every reason to be delighted with a 3-1 win at Goodison Park.
It is only the fourth time he has returned from the blue half of Merseyside with the most points since 2008. He has lost at Everton five times in that same period, when the scene was substantially more positive than the one that framed Saturday’s game.
Between international breaks, United scored seven points from four tough games, plus two wins out of three in a really tough Champions League group.
If this return had been offered in the wake of that 6-1 horror show against Tottenham on October 4, it’s fair to assume it would have been accepted.
However, nothing about a period in which United had two excellent away wins in the league, but accumulated just one point out of six at home, and beat two of last season’s Champions League semi-finalists, at time he lost to a team that had never won before. a game in competition, it will convince anyone that Solskjaer has suddenly found the right combination to make the club a major force.
Back from the abyss, again Bruno Fernandes scored two goals in Manchester United’s victory against Everton
There are many flaws with Solskjaer’s United, but one thing both the manager and his players seem to have in abundance is character.
He is open to debate whether the Norwegian’s job was at stake at Everton. Club sources said no, but a big loss would have created enormous pressure on them to make a change.
What is beyond doubt is that the external noise around Old Trafford was loud. The same thing happened last month after the Tottenham debacle.
And it is a recurring theme of Solskjaer’s reign. Last season, a 2-0 loss at home to Burnley put him on the firing line, as his team had accumulated three points from four games and had cup trips to Manchester City and Chelsea on the horizon.
A month before that, a disappointing draw with Aston Villa meant they had 10 points from nine games, and had only beaten Norwich and Brighton. Tottenham and City were his next Premier League opponents.
On each of these occasions, Solskjaer’s team has delivered. They beat Pep Guardiola’s City three times last season.
At Newcastle on October 17, and again at Goodison Park on Saturday, United fought back after falling behind. This is not the response of a team that lacks the guts or doesn’t play for the coach.
However, the question arises: why do they need to be looking over the edge of a cliff before they can reach the levels they are so obviously capable of?
“We want more consistency, kick and run, climb the table and qualify for the Champions League,” Solskjaer said after Saturday’s victory.
“Nobody likes to be criticized. My players don’t. So of course they are going to go out there and show what they are and show their quality.”
“My job now is to make sure the guard is up all the time and does not go down, and we do not go into any games with the feeling of: ‘We don’t have to work, it will be easy and it can beat the teams.’
“We have to overcome the teams and also the teams, and today was an exceptional performance for a long time after a difficult week for the guys.”
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In central defense, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof excelled at Goodison Park, denying Everton England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been so impressive all season, a clear vision of the goal. However, there have been times this season when, individually, both players have been a disaster.
Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka made positive contributions on Saturday. However, they were both on the field against Basaksehir and since they are both wingers who tend not to score, presumably at least one should have paid much more attention to the developing situation that led to Demba Ba’s first match on Wednesday.
- Watch 13 first round qualifiers on BBC iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website and app this weekend. Find out more here.
Can Man Utd be trusted?
When they return from the international break, United faces an intense match schedule. Depending on cup commitments and a trip to Burnley that still needs to be rearranged, they could have between six and 11 consecutive games on weekdays.
There will hardly be time to breathe until February.
However, scanning your match list brings a sense of apprehension. The next three Premier League away games are against Southampton, West Ham United and Sheffield United, none of which resulted in wins last season. Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa are among the upcoming visitors to Old Trafford; Those corresponding matches in 2019-20 also didn’t end in wins.
West Brom, who has not won so far this season, is United’s next opponent. Not many fans will be completely sure that all three points will be secured. The victory would end a sequence of five homeless Premier League matches and successive league wins for the first time since early July.
As Solskjaer pointed out when adjusting what he was saying on Friday, Manchester United’s only consistency at the moment is its inconsistency. That is not a basis for long-term success.
Everton’s game was Solskjaer’s 102nd as United manager. When he reached his century against Arsenal a week ago, a rather surprising statistic emerged. Solskjaer had won more games (55) in those first 100 than Jurgen Klopp (50) at Liverpool. The Anfield club’s inconsistencies would continue for a while longer: they won just six of their next 14 matches.
After that Liverpool paid £ 75 million to sign Virgil van Dijk and only after the arrival of the Dutch defender were the Reds able to reach a consistent level of performance that ultimately made them the first champions of Europe and then England.
When you evaluate the mix of extremes Manchester United is capable of today, it becomes clear that they need to make an equally bold statement if they want to change the narrative in a meaningful way.
Everton 1-3 Man Utd: Solskjaer angry at start time despite win
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Source: bbc.com
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