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Manchester United fans would always remember Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the babyface assassin who scored the winner in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. He is deeply loved and respected by the fans and the players. Ole is an arduous student of the game and wanted to follow the footsteps of the legendary Scotsman, Sir Alex Ferguson.
Every manager's dream is to sit in the home team's dugout at Old Trafford. The Norwegian might have pinched himself few times when he got the appointment as the interim manager replacing Jose Mourinho till the end of the season. Ed Woodward wanted to bring the feel-good factor back at the Theatre of Dreams and no one would have been more suited for that role than Solskjaer.
Since he took over, United thumped both Cardiff City and Huddersfield, putting in some convincing performances which were not the case in the previous games. Ole has made the team play a more eye-catching brand of football exemplifying the true philosophy of Manchester United. Here is a breakdown of how his philosophy differs from the former manager, Jose Mourinho and made United fans happy once again.
#3 Pressing high when the opposition has the ball
Premier League is all about high intensity and high press football which was successfully epitomized by the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool. However, the Red Devils under Jose Mourinho were far away from it.
The Portuguese preferred his team to sit back and hold its shape without much eagerness to clinch the ball back. Under Solskjaer, there is desperation among the players to surround any opposition player and put them under pressure to commit mistakes.
Against Huddersfield on Boxing Day, the likes of Pogba, Rashford, and Lingard repeatedly closed down spaces for David Wagner's team. It forced the away side to commit mistakes in front of their penalty box and United benefitted from it.
#2 Allowing full backs to maraud forward at will
From Sir Matt Busby to Sir Alex Ferguson, everyone followed the Manchester United's tradition of playing with flying full backs at both the flanks. The likes of Gary Neville, Evra always provided the width which made life miserable for the defending side.
Under Jose Mourinho, players like Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia didn't move forward freely as they were instructed to stop the opposition wingers first from scoring. It somewhat took away the attacking part of their game and narrowed the dimensions of United's attack.
The caretaker boss, Ole Gunnar pressed the importance of fullbacks from the very first instant. Against Cardiff, Young, and Shaw provided width down the flanks allowing the front three to cut back and create more options in the attacking third. Even against Huddersfield, both Shaw and Dalot spent most of their time in the opposition box providing dangerous crosses from both the sides.
#1 Freeing up Paul Pogba in a midfield role
Perhaps the most controversial player in the squad, Paul Pogba is finally looking settled at Old Trafford since signing for Manchester United in 2016. The world's costliest player at the time, the Frenchman was a subject of interest from many top European clubs, but Paul always wanted to come back to the place where it all began for him.
However, the happiness gradually faded with his inconsistent performances and Mourinho's criticism of the player. Pogba started in a two-person midfield at first which certainly didn't help his cause. Moreover, the frosty relationship with Jose made him look miserable on the pitch which finally led to his dismissal from the starting XI.
The arrival of Ole has bought a new lease of life within Paul Pogba. He played under the new manager during his reserve days at United which has helped Solskjaer to deploy him in a more advanced role where he doesn't have to do defensive duties. The last couple of games was a testament to how active Paul could be, given the license to move freely on the pitch.
