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Rob DawsonCorrespondent
MANCHESTER, England – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will talk a lot about the “progress” between now and the end of the season – how much Manchester United have done, is it enough and how they take the next step forward. It will be an easier conversation if this week goes well, and United kicked off a crucial seven days with a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Hoping to finish the season as Manchester City’s closest rivals, Solskjaer’s team now move on to competitions they can still win, first to AC Milan in the Europa League and then to Leicester City in the FA Cup. They finish second in the Premier League and win a trophy and Solskjaer will save himself a summer of debate over whether United are on the right track. Withdraw from both the Europa League and the FA Cup before the international break and the same old questions about the club’s leadership will resurface.
The first leg of what is a crucial three-game streak has been safely traded, and with nine league games to play, United are nine points clear of West Ham in fifth place. The risk of being dragged into a battle for the top four is diminishing and the focus now may be on improving on third place from last season and winning a trophy.
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“This week was always going to be huge,” Solskjaer said afterward. “We want to improve last season and reach a final and move up the table. This week it will always be about how we recover after a huge disappointment after a late draw.” [against Milan on Thursday]. You never know how that might affect you, but the attitude was right.
“We are starting to gain some momentum in the league and further drive the gap with West Ham. It’s a great week for us.”
The win over West Ham wasn’t particularly pretty, but it has given United some momentum at the start of a crucial week. Solskjaer has bigger ambitions than the Europa League and the FA Cup, but after four consecutive defeats in the semi-finals, the pressure on the Norwegian manager is mounting to win something.
Progress in Europe is not guaranteed after a 1-1 draw with Milan at Old Trafford and they will have to score at least once at the San Siro on Thursday if they want to reach the Europa League quarter-finals. In Leicester on Sunday a place in the FA Cup semi-finals is at stake, and United’s prospects for the final leg of this season will look much brighter if they are still on the hunt for trophies when the players return from international service. in the first week of April. In the Premier League, United have more points and have scored more goals than at the same stage last year, but this season they need silverware to add some sparkle.
In his show notes before West Ham’s visit, Solskjaer wrote about being “getting harder and harder to beat.” The numbers back him up with United losing just one of their last 23 league games and posting four straight Premier League clean sheets for the first time since Solskjaer took over. Harry Maguire was particularly good against West Ham.
The trick now is to go from not losing to winning more often, because they are not the same. Only Manchester City have lost fewer league games than United this season, but the Red Devils have drawn nine times and will need those 18 extra points if they want to close the gap with champion-elect Pep Guardiola.
Being more clinical in front of goal would be a good start.
West Ham failed to get a shot on goal, but was only beaten here due to Craig Dawson’s own goal in the second half, the 15th goal they have conceded in set pieces this season. Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes will feel like they could have been on the roster. Solskjaer will hope he is saving the killer instinct for the glasses.
“We’ve had four clean sheets now in the league and that’s always a base,” he said. “We want to score goals. I feel like we’re getting back to where we can, just a week ago we beat City 2-0. We don’t want to be greedy, no one can score four or five goals in every game in the Premier League, you have to earn it. The base. with the clean sheet, the attitude, the desire, that’s there, and we always support our players to create enough to score goals. “
Ahead of a crucial week, Solskjaer says United are heading in the right direction. Carry on the victory over West Ham with victories over Milan and Leicester to stay the course and lift a first trophy of his reign and fans won’t just have to take his word for it.
