Manchester United’s 3-0 victory over West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday was a major boost for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had been under pressure after a poor start to the season.
The man utd news is a football news story that discusses the recent performance of Manchester United, and how they managed to turn things around after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as manager.
12:37 PM EST ET
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Dawson, Rob Correspondent
LONDON, United Kingdom — Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in no mood to discuss the finer aspects of his football philosophy ahead of the trip to West Ham United, after criticism of his tactical approach during the Champions League loss to Young Boys on Tuesday.
He remarked, “Football is an easy game.” “Sometimes we dig too deeply into the complexities to explain it, but it’s all about emotion and want,” says the author.
At the very least, Solskjaer’s squad has those characteristics in plenty, as shown by Sunday’s performance. Man United came out on top 2-1 in a game they might have lost at the London Stadium.
It also helps to have a striker of Cristiano Ronaldo’s caliber and so many alternatives in your team that you can replace Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood with Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard as replacements.
Lingard scored the game-winning goal against the club for which he excelled on loan last season, but Man United also required David De Gea to save Mark Noble’s stoppage-time penalty to ensure all three points were returned home.
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Solskjaer’s side preserved their perfect start to the Premier League season with the victory, which is just the second time in ten years that United has gone undefeated after five games. Since January 2020, they have gone 29 games without losing on the road in the league.
After the game, Solskjaer stated, “We are extremely pleased with the victory and we earned the win.” “We played some excellent football, created many opportunities, and forced them to make numerous errors.”
During a press conference on Thursday, Solskjaer said that games are decided more often by “whether one of the strikers has the hunger to be on the end of crosses.” Ronaldo demonstrated his commitment to this cause once again on Sunday.
Man United will undoubtedly need to improve if they are to be regarded real championship contenders with Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, but as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer attempts to get Ronaldo, Pogba, and Bruno Fernandes to gel, the Portuguese striker is proving helpful in covering up flaws.
Ronaldo has scored four of Man United’s seven goals since his debut, and although his equalizer against West Ham will not worry Puskas Award judges, it was the kind of strike they have lacked. He is often at the right place at the right moment.
At West Ham, David De Gea (left) and Jesse Lingard (right) were Man United’s heroes. Getty
That goal in the 35th minute masked a disorganized first-half effort. Man United began poorly, as was the case so frequently last season, and deserved to be behind after half an hour, even if the manner of the goal was terrible.
Said Benrahma’s effort struck Raphael Varane and sent De Gea the wrong way after Jarrod Bowen had previously gone close twice — once after Harry Maguire had been robbed of possession inches from his own penalty area.
However, Solskjaer vowed a response to United’s stunning Champions League loss to Young Boys, and the Red Devils, to their credit, delivered. Ronaldo raced off Aaron Cresswell after seeing his goalward flick blocked by Lukasz Fabianski and remained alert to knock home the rebound when Fernandes clipped a cross into the penalty area.
After being booed and jeered by the home crowd all day, Ronaldo retrieved the ball from the net and gestured to the crowd to “cool down.” Baiting him seldom works, and he remained the most probable danger to Man United.
Ronaldo was put in along the right flank shortly after his goal, forcing Fabianski into a fine stop. Angelo Ogbonna, a West Ham defender, puffed his cheeks as he pulled himself up from the floor, sporting the expression of a guy who knew it was going to be a hard day.
When your opponents have Sancho, Lingard, Donny van de Beek, Juan Mata, and Anthony Martial on the bench, it’s going to be, and despite West Ham suffocating Man United’s assault for the next 40 minutes or so, Solskjaer’s squad depth was ultimately too much.
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Lingard, who replaced Sancho after 73 minutes, received a ball from another substitute, Nemanja Matic, before cutting in from the left side of the penalty area and shooting into the top corner. The goal provided revenge for a player who not only became a fan favorite for West Ham supporters last season, but was also seeking to avenge United’s midweek loss due to a bad backpass.
Given the involvement of his replacements, Solskjaer had some vindication of his own game management, and was particularly complimentary of Lingard after the 28-year-tough old’s week, which came after he chose not to leave Old Trafford.
“Jesse made it plain [in the summer] that he wants to battle for his position and be a part of a Man United squad that is on the rise; he’s really contributing,” Solskjaer added. “I’m overjoyed that he can manage the highs and lows so effectively. He’s maturing into a mature young guy who is an excellent player.”
Despite the late goal, there was still time for additional drama as the game ended. Referee Martin Atkinson turned to the video screen late in stoppage time after dismissing Ronaldo’s repeated demands for penalties. He decided Luke Shaw handled Andriy Yarmolenko’s cross.
De Gea, who was chastised for failing to save any of the 11 penalties he faced in the Europa League final shootout against Villarreal in May, guessed correctly and saved from Mark Noble, who had come off the bench to take the penalty.
Noble’s previous penalty miss and De Gea’s last save both occurred in 2016, but in a high-pressure situation, the tables were reversed, as Man United’s goalkeeper was swarmed at full-time by both players and manager. Football may be difficult to explain at times.
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