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There is often a fine line between genius and madness: it’s seven days at Manchester United. This team is currently baffling football fans.
On Wednesday a week ago, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team took down RB Leipzig in the Champions League using all the tricks in the book. The Red Devils sent last year’s semifinalists from Old Trafford with 5-0.
It wasn’t just the result, but the way it was done that impressed. Solskjaer had trained the tactical fox Julian Nagelsmann according to all the rules of the art and had torn off the bull’s tooth by simple means.
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Seven days later, United gave a terrifying image in the 2-1 defeat to Basaksehir Istanbul: offensively harmless, defensively completely messy. Only two shots went to the Istanbul goal in the 90 minutes.
Combined with negligent defensive behavior
Narrative scene: In the 12th minute, the Turks scored a United corner from their penalty area towards the center line, where striker Demba Ba was completely free. No United defender had the former Hoffenheimer on screen and secured the corner, so that he could run alone towards Dean Henderson’s goal and turn the ball to 1-0 from the point of view of the Turkish champions.
Such a mistake shouldn’t happen to a team of this caliber. Solskjaer knows this too. “When we conceded the first goal, we played a short corner and forgot the man on top, and that is unforgivable,” said the Norwegian, criticizing his team at the end of the game.
Club legends criticize the team
With the performance against Basaksehir, the Red Devils attracted the ire of some club legends. “You might understand if something like this happens in the last minute, but it’s the first 10 minutes, it’s embarrassing,” said Paul Scholes. BT Sport. Former Captain Rio Ferdinand railed on Twitter: “Please tell me that someone in this cabin is going crazy and holding the people accountable.”
Roy Keane had already said after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend that the players would make sure Solskjaer would be sacked. “I refuse to comment on anything like that,” said the United manager. “It’s still early in the season – opinions like that are always around. You have to stay strong,” said Solskjaer, who once played side-by-side with Keane at United after the Istanbul game.
United are late in the league
The headwind is growing for the Norwegian, who conquered the Red Devils in December 2018 and led to third place in the Premier League and the Europa League semi-finals last season, is growing. In the premier class, the English are relatively comfortable with six points from three games and are tied with Leipzig in first place in Group H. (Service: Champions League tables)
But in the Premier League the situation is completely different. With seven points in six games and 9:13 goals, there is only 15th place. With Everton, one of the previous surprise teams is also the next opponent at the weekend. (Premier League: Everton FC v Manchester United, Saturday at 1.30pm on LIVETICKER)
What is currently particularly evident at United is the inconsistency, which can also be seen in the league results: defeat, win, defeat, win, draw, defeat – the demands of a top team are different. A month ago, the Red Devils were involved in a 6-1 home draw against Tottenham Hotspur. By the way, the Spurs coach is Solskjaer’s predecessor, José Mourinho. (Service: Premier League ranking)
Solskjaer seeks midfield – what about van de Beek?
The inconsistency could also have something to do with the fact that Solskjaer has apparently not yet found his best team. The Norwegian has tried hard, especially in midfield, but is still looking for the right mix between defensive compactness and offensive creativity.
Except for playmaker Bruno Fernandes, he swapped the entire midfield over the defeat to the Gunners. The expected effect did not materialize. Paul Pogba often acts too lightheartedly on the defensive, clearers like Nemanja Matic or Scott McTominay are jokingly limited.
The role of the best player Donny van de Beek is also not yet clear. The Dutchman, who arrived from Ajax Amsterdam for 39 million euros, is still looking for his place in the Red Devils. At the start of the season, Solskjaer hardly bet on the midfielder, which led to a discussion about the sensitivity of this transfer.
In the championship, van de Beek played only 74 minutes, in the premier class he was at least a starter against Leipzig and Basaksehir.
“I know you don’t have a lot of time when the camera turns and you have to get your theses out very quickly. But you have to know that you don’t have to be in the first three games to be an important player for the team to be,” Solskjaer responded to his critics.
Everything seems to Rashford – Cavani is not a factor
In attack, hopes rest almost exclusively on Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes. The match against Leipzig proved that a match can work without Rashford, but United are too dependent on their best striker. Anthony Martial is too inconsistent in his performance, 19 year old super talented Mason Greenwood still needs time to get used to the consistently high level of the championship and premier class.
And then there is also Edinson Cavani. The 33-year-old Uruguayan, who arrived on a free transfer, should enrich the young offensive with his experience. Four substitutions without a participation in the goal is the bad balance so far.
With the current situation surrounding the Red Devils, it’s no wonder rumors of a possible Solskjaer successor are making the rounds. Even after the applause against the Spurs, the name Mauricio Pochettino was in the room.
According to a report by Manchester evening news the bosses of the Red Devils have already made contact with the Argentine. The 48-year-old former Tottenham manager, who has been without a club for a year, is said to have signaled interest in the head coach of the English record champions last December.
Against the Toffees, the Red Devils are expected to show the face of the Leipzig match again this weekend, otherwise it should be really uncomfortable for Solskjaer.
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