Solskjaer’s facing four crunch games which Will decide the fate of United’s campaign
UNITED face a potentially seasondefining run of games ahead of the international break.
Sunday’s victory in the derby was a welcome and impressive return to form in the Premier League but, with the Reds still 11 points off City, it is unlikely to change the course of the title race.
Instead, United’s best hope of silverware this season is in the cup competitions, with a Europa League round of 16 tie and FA Cup quarterfinal on the horizon.
In the next 11 days, the Reds will face AC Milan in a two-legged Euro tie and also travel to Leicester City in the FA Cup.
With a Premier League game against West Ham that could go a long way to guaranteeing a top-four finish sandwiched in between the two
Europa League legs, it is a four-game run that could well make or break the rest of the season for United.
It could also determine whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer meets the last of Ed Woodward’s three objectives.
Speaking in October 2019, a little over six months after Solskjaer was appointed permanent manager at Old Trafford, Woodward outlined what United expected from the Norwegian.
“Ole’s vision maps exactly to the core three football objectives we have,” said Woodward.
“We must win trophies, we must play attacking football, and we must give youth its chance.
“Last season we were the Premier League’s leading club in terms of the most match minutes given to our own Academy graduates. We should all be proud that the significant investments we have made in our academy spanning recruitment, facilities and
analytics - are now bearing fruit. There’s a lot more we need to do in that but that’s coming in the next few years. We know this is a strong competitive advantage for us and an area that we’ll continue to focus on and invest in. But this remains the heart of the club.”
Since then, Solskjaer has clearly met two of Woodward’s three objectives.
The emergence of Mason Greenwood has shown United’s renewed approach to youth players at the club, with Scott McTominay also developing into one of the Premier League’s leading midfielders.
United’s young players make up a key part of Solskjaer’s squad, with Brandon Williams, Dean Henderson and Axel Tuanzebe adding valuable strength in depth and challenging for starting places.
Alongside this, the recent promotions of Amad, Shola Shoretire and Hannibal Mejbri show Solskjaer’s commitment to rewarding young players for their impressive performances in the development teams.
United are also the second-highest scorers in the Premier League this season, having netted just one fewer than City, showing Solskjaer is also delivering on Woodward’s desire to play attacking football.
So the only objective left for him to meet is winning trophies. United came close last season, suffering semi-final defeats in three competitions, which, at the time, represented progress.
Yet a defeat in this season’s Carabao Cup semi-final raised questions over whether United had some sort of mental block in taking the final steps towards winning silverware - and those questions will only grow louder should United stumble in the next 11 days.