Ole has a blueprint to win the big games

IT was the start of another week in which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s fortunes as United manager swung wildly.

After a calamitous 3-3 draw at Sheffield United and a 2-2 Old Trafford stalemate with Aston Villa sandwiched Europa League defeat in Kazakhstan, the Reds boss faced up to the prospect of successive games against Tottenham and City with his future again coming under scrutiny.

But under the Old Trafford lights on Wednesday, December 4, Solskjaer again began to turn the tide.

At the time, following up those three disappointing results with successive 2-1 wins against Jose

Mourinho’s Spurs and Pep Guardiola’s Blues looked like another example of the inconsistency plaguing this side.

Gradually those problems have been eroded, with United in the midst of an 11-game unbeaten run when the season was suspended.

Victory over Tottenham, in what was a dominant display deserving of all three points, also showed Solskjaer has the tactical blueprint to beat Mourinho’s team.

Seven months on, the circumstances have changed greatly, but one of the traits of Solskjaer’s reign so far has been his ability to find a winning formula against a particular team and keep finding ways to use it.

Already this season the Norwegian has masterminded three wins from three against Chelsea, including two at Stamford Bridge, and three wins out of four against City, with two of those successes at the Etihad.

The way they have twice torn apart Norwich is also an example, if one not quite deserving of the same merit given the Canaries’ position at the foot of the Premier League. United could make it three out of three against Daniel Farke’s side in the FA Cup quarter-finals later this month.

It might well be no coincidence that United’s record in big games is good, a trait that has been fairly consistent since Solskjaer took charge.