Solskjaer adds derby win to his growing list of tactical triumphs
Long after the final whistle, just out of their respective technical areas, Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stood deep in conversation. The temptation was to wonder if Guardiola, with his perpetual quest for knowledge, was asking for tips.
Manchester City may be 11 points ahead of their neighbours but only one manager has faced Guardiola four times or more and won more than he has lost: Solskjaer. Only Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho boast more victories in total against Guardiola.
Welcome to the paradox of Solskjaer. If few believe he is a world-class manager, he has displayed an ability to beat them. Besides Guardiola, he has defeated Thomas Tuchel, Julian Nagelsmann, Carlo Ancelotti, Mauricio Pochettino and Mourinho, plus managers of elite clubs such as Unai Emery and Frank Lampard.
Klopp has not lost to Solskjaer in the league, but the only points he dropped in Liverpool’s first 29 games last season were at Old Trafford.
True, Solskjaer has often lost to them. Since he has lost four semi-finals and had not won any of his first seven big-six matches this season, he has sometimes been cruelly derided as a PE teacher. And yet, Solskjaer can point to his share of prestigious tactical triumphs.
Sunday was one such. The sight of Joao Cancelo being substituted showed United had found a way of combating the ‘false two’, the full-back who spent much of his time in midfield. Using Marcus Rashford’s pace in the space Cancelo vacated was one part of strategy.
When Luke Shaw surged past the Portuguese en route to scoring United’s second, it felt symbolic.
Shaw has plenty of other significance. Solskjaer has proved the former striker can drill a defence. Understandably, the focus in the build-up was on United’s lack of goals against their peers. But now a record featuring a surfeit of stalemates can be flipped.
Since the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham, Manchester United have conceded a solitary penalty in seven league games against the big six. They kept a clean sheet against City with just 34 per cent of possession, a feat of concentration and organisation.His back four, and the shield of Scott McTominay and Fred, though, can be hard to penetrate.
Harry Maguire’s assortment of clearances was an illustration he is one of the best penalty-box defenders around.
Shaw has inverted a recent trend at Old Trafford. Too many signings since Alex Ferguson have produced their best form early in their United careers only to regress. Scapegoated by Mourinho, he has surged under Solskjaer.
There have been times when United seem to have had a diminishing effect on Shaw; not now, when he has never played better.
Perhaps Anthony Martial did, too. His troubled campaign threatened to be defined by his dismissal against Spurs after a terrific 23-goal season last year.
He tormented City with his speed in an outstanding performance. Solskjaer had added to his list of scalps. Maybe Guardiola was asking him how.