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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United were on a roll before Wednesday’s Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain.
After kicking off November with back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Istanbul Basaksehir, Manchester United went on to record four successive wins in all competitions.
The impressive run started with an important 3-1 win at Everton, before victories against West Bromwich Albion, Basaksehir and Southampton followed.
However, Manchester United were brought back down to earth on Wednesday, when they suffered a damaging 3-1 loss to PSG in the Champions League. In truth though, it was one of the team's best games so far this season.
PSG defeat a step back after impressive four-game run
The French champions were there for the taking and Solskjaer’s side had several chances to finish them off. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Edinson Cavani all had clear-cut chances to score, but contrived to miss.
When Marquinhos and Neymar’s second goal eventually sunk the Reds late on, it left a sour taste in the mouth of supporters. United weren’t bad on the night, they just weren't clinical enough.
Solskajer’s decision to keep Fred on the pitch, despite the Brazilian narrowly avoiding a red card in the first half, may have also contributed to the defeat.
Manchester United have little time to dwell on the past though. On Saturday, the Reds travel to West Ham United for a game that will be key to their chances of finishing in the top four.
The Premier League table is currently a scramble and United are in ninth position. Liverpool and Tottenham, who are joint table-toppers, are just five points above Solskjaer’s side, who coincidentally have a game in hand.
Should they beat West Ham on Saturday, Manchester United will temporarily move into the top four.
Manchester United need to return to winning ways against West Ham
Manchester United cannot afford to lose this game. After the disappointing loss against PSG, only victory against the Hammers can restore the confidence that the team currently needs.
Ahead of the trip to the London Stadium, Solskjaer emphasised the importance of fine margins in football.
"Depends on how many games do you wanna go back, football is a game with human beings and live their own lives, we've played some fantastic games, go 40 games back we're one of the most consistent in the Premier League. You're disappointed when you lose and it's fine margins at times that decide if you win or lose, the PSG game was miles better than West Brom, but you don't get three points against PSG, we're getting more more, less bad performances and getting more consistent. You can never control the result in the end, that's decided by fine margins."
As Solskjaer rightly pointed out, Manchester United’s results have generally been better in recent weeks, but they can’t continue losing by fine margins.
United finished third in the Premier League last season and reached the Europa League semi-finals. If anything, they should be getting better and not regressing after the money they’ve spent.
Winning against West Ham, and rising into the top four, could tell us how far Solskajer can actually take the Reds as the season enters its business period.
