Reality Strikes in the Champions League for Manchester United and Solskjaer
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Since joining the club as caretaker manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done remarkably well at Old Trafford. He took over a sinking ship when Jose Mourinho was sacked and has made the club serious contenders to finish in the top four this season.
While the top four is the minimum requirement for Manchester United, it seemed out of their reach following the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool in December. However, Solskjaer has restored the feel-good factor to Old Trafford and shown he is capable of managing in the Premier League despite a poor record at Cardiff City.
Nonetheless, the 2-0 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League highlighted how much work still needs to be done at Manchester United. The Red Devils struggled to break down PSG with their best attacking players on the pitch and when Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard were forced off injured, they offered nothing.
Thomas Tuchel did a number on Solskjaer, who may have found himself a little out of his depth tactically in such a huge game.
While Manchester United suffered at Old Trafford, Tottenham Hotspur took to the stage at Wembley and turned on a very impressive performance to defeat Borussia Dortmund 3-0. When the Spurs starting XI was announced on Wednesday night, many fans were left wondering what their manager, Mauricio Pochettino was thinking.
He named four centre-backs in his team, with Serge Aurier asked to mark new Chelsea signing Christian Pulisic and no out and out striker, with Fernando Llorente left on the bench.
However, we should know better by now to question Pochettino’s selection and his tactics proved to be spot on. Jan Vertonghen operated in a left-wing back role and was excellent plus Moussa Sissoko continues to excel in central midfield.
Considering Spurs were without arguably their two best players in Dele Alli and Harry Kane, this was an incredible result and the comparison between Spurs on Wednesday and Manchester United on Tuesday was there for all to see.
Yes, Solskjaer got the better of Pochettino when the teams met in the Premier League earlier this season. The Norwegian got his tactics spot on that day but Spurs still managed to create plenty of goal scoring chances. If it wasn’t for a superb performance from David De Gea and some poor finishing, Spurs would have won the game.
In terms of an interview for the position of full-time manager at Manchester United next season, Pochettino passed with flying colours whereas Solskjaer was left with additional questions to answer.
Pochettino may decide he wants to stay with Spurs in the summer or move elsewhere, especially with Real Madrid on the search for a new boss. However, the Manchester United hierarchy cannot fail to have seen the differences between the clubs in mid-week and it will be interesting to see how this develops following the end of the current campaign.
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