He ended up packing up after another loss to Watford. Manchester United decided, Sunday, November 21, to part ways with their coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in office for three years. From an unexpected victory against PSG to humiliation against Liverpool in the league, look back on the three eventful years of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the bench of Manchester United.
A thunderous debut in 2018
After the dismissal of José Mourinho, Solskjaer became the new coach of the Red Devils on December 19, 2018. Former player of the club (1996-2007), he landed on the side of Manchester in a favorable context, adored by the supporters who remember exploits of “Super Sub” (luxury replacement) of the 2000s. His debut on the Mancunian bench lived up to expectations as he became the first club coach to win his first six games.
Manchester United are now on 6 wins in 6 matches since the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjær:
✅ 5-1 vs Cardiff
✅ 3-1 vs Huddersfield
✅ 4-1 vs Bournemouth
✅ 2-0 vs Newcastle
✅ 2-0 vs Reading
✅ 1-0 vs Tottenham pic.twitter.com/MTEkpkHLIp– Football News (@ActuFoot_) January 13, 2019
A resounding success against PSG but no follow-up
In March 2019, his feat in the second leg with a decimated workforce against PSG (3-1 victory) in the Champions League, while his team lost in the first leg on the lawn of Old Trafford (2-0) a few days earlier, allowed it to gain the confidence of its leaders. Recruited on the basis of a loan until the end of the season, he was finally confirmed as the club’s titular coach for a period of three years, at the end of March. The disillusionment in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Wolverhampton (defeat 1-2) will not have weighed in the balance for the final decision.
On a cloud during his first months, Solskjaer failed to stay the course for the whole of 2019. Slowed in his tracks by the failure in the quarterfinals of the Champions League (1-0 defeats and 3-0 against Barcelona), the Norwegian also suffered the blow in the Premier League with a sixth place in the standings at the end of the season and a too feverish defense (54 goals conceded).
An honorable but untitled record during the Covid
The year 2020, disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, smiled particularly well for the Norwegian. Victorious against the leader Manchester City (2-0) in March, he relaunched his team, however badly started at the start of the championship (four draws and three defeats in the first 10 games). On the restart in June, Solskjaer recorded six wins in eight games, allowing his team to climb to the podium at the end of the season. He also reached the semi-finals in three competitions, the FA Cup, The League Cup and the Europa League. Sufficiently satisfactory results not to call into question his position.
It was only the following season that the first doubts emerged, especially on his tactical choices. Criticized for its late changes, the lack of maîtrise on the game and the defensive flaws of the team especially on set pieces, he relaunched thanks to precious victories against PSG (2-1) in the European Cup, in October 2020, and Manchester City (2-0) in the Premier League, in March, which gave credit to the 48-year-old technician. Vice-champion of England and finalist of the Europa League at the end of the season, Solskjaer was renewed at the head of the club on July 24 for a period of three years.
In March 2019, after beating PSG 3-1 in Paris, Ole Gunnar Solskjær became the first Man Utd manager to win nine consecutive away games.
In October 2020, after beating PSG 2-1 in Paris, Ole Gunnar Solskjær becomes the first Man Utd manager to win 10 consecutive away games.
– Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 20, 2020
A laborious 2022 season and a historic slap in the face
Worn by Cristiano Ronaldo, back at the club and voted best player of the month in September in the Premier League, Manchester United started their season well, before sinking and suffering historic humiliation against rival Liverpool (5-0). The defeats against Manchester City (0-2) and Watford (1-4) then definitively buried the Norwegian’s meager chances of being kept on the Mancunian bench.
Rout that had led some big names in English football to speak out and criticize the Norwegian for his inability to impose a style and a real identity of play on his team on the pitch. “I think he has done a good job so far but to face Klopp, Guardiola or Tuchel they need a better coach “, in particular noted Jamie Carragher, former legend of Liverpool, at the microphone of Sky Sports after the defeat at the “Derby of England”.
“If you look at Chelsea, and the impact Tuchel had on them, it was amazing. They have a strategy and a DNA. When I watch Manchester United games, I don’t know how they play “, underlined Bastian Schweinsteiger, former United player between 2015 and 2017, at the microphone of the BBC. Zinedine Zidane, Brendan Rogers, but especially Antonio Conte are mentioned to take over on a bench that is still looking for a successor to Sir Alex Ferguson, the last coach to have made the Mancunians reign over England, in 2013.