LONDON • By now, it has become a familiar sight: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hugging his staff, applauding his players and celebrating a goal.
Quick, incisive football, willing to take on anyone and, up till now, always coming out on top.
The caretaker manager continues to revive Manchester United in spectacular fashion after Friday's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at Arsenal.
Once again, he set the right mood. Once again, he got the tactics right. Once again, he got his starting line-up and substitutions right.
This was their eighth straight win since the Norwegian was appointed and the case for him taking over permanently is building, particularly now his restorative qualities appear to stretch to Alexis Sanchez, who scored the opening goal on his return to his former club.
A lesser team would have wilted in the face of some concerted pressure from the Gunners.
8
Consecutive wins Manchester United have registered in all competitions for the first time since January 2017.
But United have rejuvenated, epitomised by the transformation of Victor Lindelof in the heart of defence, Paul Pogba in midfield and the deadly attacking trio of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Solskjaer was once part of the best counter-attacking side in English football. He seems to be building the modern team the same way and United's second and third goals, converted by Lingard and Martial, were reminders of the past when former manager Alex Ferguson led the team into battle with Arsenal.
Solskjaer was proud of his team's "classic" display, reminiscent of the good old days.
"I've had a (selection) headache since I came because the squad is full of good players," he said.
"Today, we looked more like a proper team. We looked more structured. We'd worked hard at defending and counter-attacking.
"Counter-attacking is classic Manchester United - Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Park Ji-sung - we've scored so many at Arsenal over the years.
"It was a massive step forward today. At Tottenham, we hung in and (goalkeeper) David de Gea saved us but, today, our structure was miles better."
On Friday's evidence, Solskjaer seems to have the handy managerial knack of knowing exactly when to shuffle his plethora of attacking options. In-form Rashford and Martial were kept on the bench for 72 minutes, with Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku starting out wide and Lingard in the centre.
Any eyebrows raised at his decision to field striker Lukaku on the right were soon lowered. The Belgian was exceptional, creating both goals scored by Sanchez and Lingard in the first half.
When Arsenal started to fight back late after the break, in came the speedy Rashford and Martial with the aim of exploiting the space left behind in defence when the Gunners tried to go forward.
The counter-attacking plan worked a treat, with Martial sealing the win in the 82nd minute.
And Solskjaer insists Sanchez can only improve after scoring on his Arsenal return.
He said: "Every player, the more confident you get, the more you want to get on the pitch and train and work on yourself and you trust yourself. He has been injured lately so it was great to see him get 65-70 minutes tonight and he can only improve and I think he knows that himself."
Arsenal's loss was made more painful with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny joining the injury list.
"They were clinical today," said Arsenal manager Unai Emery.
"We played against a United side in their best moment of the season and they have a lot of players to make a difference."
THE GUARDIAN, THE TIMES, LONDON, REUTERS
Guardiola isn't thinking that far ahead just yet and he urged his players to take it one game at a time. "Liverpool and Man City have done incredible so far so deserve the credit. We will have 80 points with six games to play if we win next week," he said. "We are going to do everything to win. No matter the next competition, we will win the game."
Guardiola salutes 'incredible' Manchester City
pembrokeexpress.com/2019/04/02/guardiola-salutes-incredible-manchester-city/
Guardiola salutes 'incredible' Manchester City Posted April 02, 2019 "I just think that whereas City when they are one up can get the football, pop it about and keep it for fun if you want, I don't think Liverpool with the trio of midfield players that they have can do that as well".
Pep Guardiola salutes gritty Manchester City | Football News
LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Liverpool were left to regret two huge missed chances by Mohamed Salah as Everton held out for a 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby on Sunday (March 3).. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Liverpool held at Everton to surrender top spot in Premier League
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his "confident" side could stage a Champions League fightback at Paris Saint-Germain this week after a dramatic 3-2 victory over Southampton on Saturday.
Football, bloody hell!' - Solskjaer's Man United miracle in
Football: New FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides
People usually have to earn our trust before we trust them. As nice as it would be to think like he does, if most people thought that way, we would probably see a lot of wallets lying around in public places, people would not spend so much on security devices and locks for their homes and cars, and children would be allowed to roam unsupervised
Why You Should Always Trust Yourself — Purpose Fairy
Premier League: Willian Gem Sinks Newcastle United As Chelsea Cement Fourth Place Updated: 13 January 2019 09:15 IST Fourth-placed Chelsea have won five of their last seven league matches and sit
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
March 30 (Reuters) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrated his first game as permanent Manchester United manager with a 2-1 Premier League win over Watford at Old Trafford on Saturday. It was a far from
Rashford and Martial give United win over Watford
adtest.supersport.com/football/premier-league/news/190330/Rashford_and_Martial_give_United_win_over_Watford
It was the ninth goal during Solskjaer's reign for Rashford, who has blossomed in the last three months, and has replaced Romelu Lukaku as United's main man up front. Foster, once of United, has been Watford's best player this season, and he underlined why with a brilliant instinctive save to deny Martial from close range as United threatened
Man Utd - Watford 2-1 Rashford & Martial goals give Ole win
Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's
Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal. The victory in Saturday's early kick-off saw the Hammers move up to eighth in the Premier League table, on 31 points, ahead of the bulk of the
Rice Scores First Hammers Goal To Defeat Arsenal - iAfrica.com
Gymkhana FC's president Patrick Francis has lashed out against the decision of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to expel his club from the National Football League (NFL) for its failure to send down the full set of 11 players at the start of three matches this year. Speaking to The
U.S. businesses optimistic on China growth, bemoan unfair
Kane gives Spurs edge over Chelsea in League Cup. Harry Kane fired Tottenham a step closer to the League Cup final as his penalty sealed a 1-0 win over Chelsea in the semi-final first leg on
Harry Kane's penalty gives Spurs the edge over Chelsea
Get a report of the West Bromwich Albion vs. Aston Villa 2018/19 English League Championship, Semifinals football match. Villa into playoff final after shootout win over West Brom.
Football: Aston Villa into playoff final after shootout win
"We have to be convinced that we can do it. If there is a team that can score four goals, I think it is Barcelona but with our philosophy of how to play and controlling the game."
Dalot: Man Utd know we can score in Barcelona - Tribal Football
0 comments:
Post a Comment