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TTo fully appreciate the ups and downs, you need to probe the depths first and Manchester United seemed determined to test the theory on Saturday in the essential Premier League game in Newcastle. After three chaotic performances in the competition, the most recent being the 6-1 capitulation at home to Tottenham, the last thing they had to do was give their opponents an advantage.
Still, they did, and as David de Gea thawed and Luke Shaw contemplated the reality of his own goal in the second minute, United’s situation was filled with bleakness. At that moment the storm was coming for Ole Gunnar Solskjær: the questioning of his selection decisions, which had caused some surprises; bookies reducing their odds in the sack race; Mauricio Pochettino is a trend on Twitter.
Gareth Southgate had said during the international hiatus that the pandemic had heightened everyone’s emotions to the point where tolerance had been drastically reduced. The England manager was talking about society in general, and not just football fans, but it would be interesting to see if Solskjær agrees because, at the moment, he only acts on the extremes. Maybe it’s just the life of a United manager.
And yet, happily for Solskjær, he can now prepare for the Champions League tie at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, a repeat of his prime in charge of the club, in a genuine upturn, having seen his players get off the mat in St James Park. What Solskjær liked the most about the 4-1 comeback was the way his team stayed calm amid the crisis, relying on the game plan and rolling on Bruno Fernandes’ additional low shots with a draw canceled by the VAR and missing a penalty at 1-1. United asserted themselves, their passing and movements were excellent and statistics would show they attempted 28 shots on goal, the most of any team in the league this season.
It was the most timely reminder that good United football after last season’s restart, which served to return to the Champions League, was not a thing of the past. Solskjær can get them to play this kind of thing in the future and it felt like United’s season had finally started.
The temptation was to poke fun at a Newcastle team that lacked momentum, to put a kind of asterisk against the result, to note that there are tougher tests ahead, first PSG and then Chelsea, RB Leipzig and Arsenal. But Newcastle did not play because United did not let them and they did so without the suspended Anthony Martial, the injured Mason Greenwood and with Paul Pogba fit only to be used as a substitute. Solskjær could feel that in the performances of Juan Mata, Daniel James, Scott McTominay and Fred, after all, he might have a bit of strength in depth.
What PSG’s analysis would have shown is that United are no longer out of rhythm in physical terms. Following the home loss to Crystal Palace on the first weekend, Solskjær said “we need four or five games to reach the level that we know we are capable of.” The lack of a proper preseason would always hurt United and in the second league game in Brighton, for example, the players were a meter too slow in many positions, even if they somehow won. The less the Spurs game is talked about, the better.
Newcastle, however, was the fourth game and, significantly, it was another two weeks from the third game. Without fitness, there can be no performance. United now has the basis for the latter.
Solskjær continues to be attacked by negative perceptions. When he led his team to the unlikely 3-1 victory at PSG in March 2019, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals thanks to a controversial penalty from Marcus Rashford, it not only landed him a spot at United from permanently, but also provided the platform. for the club to go ahead and win trophies.
That hasn’t happened, with disappointment in the quarterfinals and semifinals becoming the norm, while the gap to the top of the league has widened. On the back of a frustrating summer transfer window, Solskjær’s ability to make the most of the players already at his disposal will come under relentless scrutiny. Can you develop a team to disarm opponents who sit deep and prefer to fight back?
With their football standing up front, PSG presents a different challenge, a threatening one, especially as Solskjær has problems in central defense where Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly have not traveled due to minor injuries.
Solskjær can see rays of light. He stayed alongside Maguire in Newcastle and watched him return his faith with a show of command after some erratics (the captain should be available for Saturday’s home game against Chelsea), while Aaron Wan-Bissaka also fell back on the correct address. Fernandes, for his part, was outstanding; a symbol of the quality and mentality that Solskjær seeks. It will be fascinating to see him against upper-class opposition at the Parc des Princes.
As always, Pogba has attracted a lot of attention before the game, partly because he’s returning to France and partly because, well, he’s Pogba. Solskjær is faced with other questions, one of them about how he can accommodate Donny van de Beek. The new signing was again tidy as a substitute at Newcastle, a game he expected to start given the likelihood of trade after Spurs, but is expected to remain on the bench in Paris.
Solskjær has bought a much-needed respite, a chance to build a bit of momentum. Can you show that the horrors of the early season are really behind us?
