LONDON • By now, it has become a familiar sight: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hugging his staff, applauding his players and celebrating a goal.
Quick, incisive football, willing to take on anyone and, up till now, always coming out on top.
The caretaker manager continues to revive Manchester United in spectacular fashion after Friday's 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at Arsenal.
Once again, he set the right mood. Once again, he got the tactics right. Once again, he got his starting line-up and substitutions right.
This was their eighth straight win since the Norwegian was appointed and the case for him taking over permanently is building, particularly now his restorative qualities appear to stretch to Alexis Sanchez, who scored the opening goal on his return to his former club.
A lesser team would have wilted in the face of some concerted pressure from the Gunners.
8
Consecutive wins Manchester United have registered in all competitions for the first time since January 2017.
But United have rejuvenated, epitomised by the transformation of Victor Lindelof in the heart of defence, Paul Pogba in midfield and the deadly attacking trio of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
Solskjaer was once part of the best counter-attacking side in English football. He seems to be building the modern team the same way and United's second and third goals, converted by Lingard and Martial, were reminders of the past when former manager Alex Ferguson led the team into battle with Arsenal.
Solskjaer was proud of his team's "classic" display, reminiscent of the good old days.
"I've had a (selection) headache since I came because the squad is full of good players," he said.
"Today, we looked more like a proper team. We looked more structured. We'd worked hard at defending and counter-attacking.
"Counter-attacking is classic Manchester United - Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Park Ji-sung - we've scored so many at Arsenal over the years.
"It was a massive step forward today. At Tottenham, we hung in and (goalkeeper) David de Gea saved us but, today, our structure was miles better."
On Friday's evidence, Solskjaer seems to have the handy managerial knack of knowing exactly when to shuffle his plethora of attacking options. In-form Rashford and Martial were kept on the bench for 72 minutes, with Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku starting out wide and Lingard in the centre.
Any eyebrows raised at his decision to field striker Lukaku on the right were soon lowered. The Belgian was exceptional, creating both goals scored by Sanchez and Lingard in the first half.
When Arsenal started to fight back late after the break, in came the speedy Rashford and Martial with the aim of exploiting the space left behind in defence when the Gunners tried to go forward.
The counter-attacking plan worked a treat, with Martial sealing the win in the 82nd minute.
And Solskjaer insists Sanchez can only improve after scoring on his Arsenal return.
He said: "Every player, the more confident you get, the more you want to get on the pitch and train and work on yourself and you trust yourself. He has been injured lately so it was great to see him get 65-70 minutes tonight and he can only improve and I think he knows that himself."
Arsenal's loss was made more painful with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny joining the injury list.
"They were clinical today," said Arsenal manager Unai Emery.
"We played against a United side in their best moment of the season and they have a lot of players to make a difference."
THE GUARDIAN, THE TIMES, LONDON, REUTERS
Championship side Birmingham have been docked nine points for breaching financial rules, the English Football League announced on Friday. The Championship side broke the EFL's profitability and sustainability regulations and faced a possible 12-point deduction and a transfer ban. The penalty drops
Birmingham hit with nine-point deduction after breaching
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 16, 2018, with the headline 'Abramovich steps in amid racism outrage'. Print Edition | Subscribe.
Outrage Over Racism Rekindled Amid Two Viral Videos | Newsmax.com
The victory lifts the Socceroos to second in the Group B table, two points clear of their final opponents Syria, against whom a draw will be enough to seal qualification to the last 16, while Palestine are bottom on one point but are far from out of the knockout picture.
Match preview: Socceroos v Palestine | Socceroos
Maurizio Sarri says he is not worried about Chelsea's looming transfer embargo, insisting he has confidence in his squad as he targets a top-four finish in the Premier League. The Stamford Bridge club, who host London rivals West Ham on Monday, are fifth in the table, level on 63 points with fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Chelsea can cope with transfer ban, says Sarri - punchng.com
Klopp not falling for title talk trap. Jurgen Klopp said he was wary of falling into the trap of talking up his team's chances with 18 games of the 38-match campaign remaining.
Klopp not falling for title talk trap - theworldnews.net
Norway 3 Nigeria 0. Ada Hegerberg was not needed as Norway kicked off their women's World Cup Group A campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Nigeria on Saturday.. Without Ballon d'Or
Football: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria in women
allmysportsnews.com/soccer/football-hegerberg-less-norway-canter-past-nigeria-in-womens-world-cup/
Football: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria in women's World Cup Posted on 06/08/2019 REIMS, France (REUTERS) - Ada Hegerberg was not needed as Norway kicked off their women's World Cup Group A campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Nigeria on Saturday (June 8).
Soccer: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria - Reuters.com
Wimbledon humble West Ham in FA Cup shock - espn.com
At Monster, we're dedicated to making the job search process simple—and stress free. Our job search engine is built with powerful technology that aims to match the right job opportunities with the right people. To find the latest and most relevant job openings, simply browse by job title, company, city or state.
Top 18 Common Job Interview Questions and Answers - indeed.com
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place Maurizio Sarri warned his Chelsea stars to improve their mentality after Willian's sublime strike sealed a hard-fought 2-1 win over struggling Newcastle on Saturday.
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
Football News: Two goals from Marko Arnautovic and Ryan Fredericks's first Premier League strike helped West Ham beat Southampton 3-0 at London Stadium on Saturday t
Arnautovic ends drought as West Ham sink Southampton
Pochettino loses his cool as Spurs slump, Huddersfield closer to relegation North London club would have moved within two points of leaders Manchester City with a win at Turf Moor By AFP
Pochettino loses his cool as Spurs slump, Huddersfield closer
European football: Five things we learnt this weekend. United and two with Real Madrid, as he becomes the first player to win in each of Europe's top three leagues — the Premier League, La
5 things that we learnt from the Premier League weekend
England eased to a 5-1 victory at Montenegro on Monday evening and two Chelsea players in Ross Barkley and Callum Hudson-Odoi were at the heart of it.. Barkley assisted the first goal with a delightful cross for Michael Keane to head home, while he turned Hudson-Odoi's shot into the net for the second.
The one thing that could bring Sarri's downfall with both
0 comments:
Post a Comment