The early winner of F365: Solskjaer and his savior from Man Utd …

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Publication Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020, 3:28 AM

When he urgently needed a result, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delivered as usual. The Norwegian spent the entire week grappling with questions about his future at Old Trafford, but a 3-1 win at Everton will ensure an extension of his term. The pressure on the Man Utd boss has been lowered, for now.

Solskjaer was the subject of speculation throughout last week following their back-to-back losses to Arsenal. and Istanbul Basaksehir. The loss to the Gunners was their third in the Premier League this season, leaving the Red Devils in 15th position, while their loss and defense in Turkey was, in Solskjaer’s own words, “unforgivable“. If some United fans were frustrated before playing in Istanbul, then their frustration boiled over afterwards. The result was bad, but Ole’s guys were on an embarrassing night, registering fewer shots on goal than Turkey’s current seventh-best team.

It was Istanbul Basaksehir’s second victory in the Champions League and the first in the Champions League group stage, having lost their first two games to Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipig earlier this season. the Manchester evening news you wasted no time publishing an article Thursday morning that Mauricio Pochettino had been ‘approached’ by Manchester United ‘with a view to replacing’ Solskjaer. On Saturday morning the rumors still persisted, as the Daily star reclaimed Mauricio Pochettino has twice turned down the Barcelona job to give himself the opportunity to lead Man Utd.

A solid performance at Goodison Park, and more importantly three points, was not only a requirement, but a must for Solskjaer on Saturday afternoon. And he delivered it duly, but with a huge helping hand from his Portuguese savior Bruno Fernandes. Solskjaer’s first smiles faded after just 19 minutes as United showed the first nuances of their poor defense in Turkey. A long ball down the field from Jordan Pickford targeted Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who forced Victor Lindelof into the path of the Everton Bernard winger, with the Brazilian hitting a precise shot through the legs of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and within the network. It was poor from Man Utd with the Toffees enjoying their approach route early on, while Bernard and Lucas Digne were causing trouble on the left side.

The Toffees were guilty of their own poor defense just six minutes later, as they left Fernandes with all the space in the world to hammer a brilliant header tie over Pickford. And in the 32nd minute, the Red Devils had turned the game around, with the Portuguese playmaker throwing a ball, destined for Marcus Rashford, straight into goal through the post. It was no more than Man Utd deserved after increasing the pressure on the Toffees goal. United were in control for most of the game and Fernandes put one on a layup for Edinson Cavani to score his first goal for United in injury time in the second half.

It comes in stark contrast to his last visit to Goodison Park, where Solskjaer presided over his most punishing day at the hotseat last April. The Norwegian was forced to apologize to the fans for a performance so “hard to describe because it’s so bad” in a 4-0 thrashing. Before this game, Solskjaer admitted that he was “the shortest” he has ever felt as a United manager, despite recent persistent rumors that he is close to losing his job. There were plenty of bouts of positivity to come out of her exhibition 45 weeks after that particular embarrassment, with performances by Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Fred standing out above the rest.

Roy Keane complained about the lack of leaders in the Solskjaer squad following their first league loss to Arsenal at Old Trafford since 2006, calling it “a real concern for United now”. But coming from a goal down, under the pressure they were under, it shows that United possess enough characters to lead them to victory. Fernandes led the way through his quality, propelling the Red Devils across the field, while Maguire produced the kind of commanding performance expected from a club captain. Now the real test for Maguire, Fernandes and the rest of the United team is to do it consistently.

It was no surprise to see United wait for victory and even extend their lead in the second half. The Red Devils have not lost a Premier League game in which they have been leading at halftime since September 2014 against Leicester City. What’s surprising, though, is that with those three points at Goodison, United have now started better, or at least poorly, this season than last, despite all the negativity surrounding the club. It took them nine Premier League matches in 2019/20 to reach their current total of ten points.

The main threat to Solskjaer’s work remains its lack of consistency. We know this Man Utd team has the staff to beat any team in the world back in the day, but now they have to show that they can pull off six or seven wins together on the rebound. West Brom and another match with Istanbul Basaksehir give them the perfect opportunity to show stable form before the toughest tests against Southampton and PSG. Fernandes’s performance has at least stopped the pressure on Solskjaer, but with no wins in the next two matches, the heat will be back on the Norwegian.

Joe williams



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