Not for the first time in his managerial career, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chipped in with a big performance just when it mattered the most. With his job pretty much on the line after a humiliating 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool, his side delivered a fairly convincing win against Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
The Norwegian switched to a back five for this fixture, with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan–Bissaka becoming wing-backs and Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire forming the three-man backline partnership. He also started Fred and Scott McTominay in the midfield, going with seven clear defensive options in the lineup.
The side has struggled to keep clean sheets this season, and this looked like a desperate attempt to start overwriting things from the start. It all started with a fantastic chipped ball from Bruno Fernandes, into the path of his Portuguese partner Cristiano Ronaldo. The former went for the volley the first time and finished off a cracking goal.
Ronaldo and Bruno were at the thick of things once again, linking up wonderfully before the 37-year-old set up Edinson Cavani, who slotted it home past Hugo Lloris. Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford came off the bench to link up for United’s third goal, with Rashford in acres of space to finish a one-on-one contest with the keeper.
Former United captain Gary Neville exclaimed that the side needed a strong defensive performance, and they got it. According to the former full-back, this win earns the current manager a lot of breathing space.
“It’s a massive week for Solskjaer and he’s started if off just how he would have wanted. The pressure was intolerable building up to this game. But they’ve produced a good performance, even though people will talk about how poor Spurs were.
Most importantly, they’ve looked like a team out of possession. He’s got them compact and tight and there’s been an intensity.
It gives Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a little bit of breathing space before the Champions League game.”
said Neville.
On November 2, United face off Atalanta in Italy, in a bid to strengthen their hold on the top spot in their Champions League group.
