From sleep-inducing football under Jose Mourinho to rip-roaring displays under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, it’s been a fascinating five weeks at Manchester United.
Record-breaking Solskjaer is the only Man Utd manager in the history of the famous club to win his opening seven matches at the helm. In fact, such is United’s dramatic transformation under the helm of their interim boss, that they’ve conjured up more games in his tutorship than in Mourinho’s final 18 matches in charge (six).
In his opening game against Cardiff Solskjaer effortlessly became the first Red Devils boss since Sir Alex Ferguson to oversee five United goals in a top-flight game. A remarkable statistic. He accomplished in a single game what the dispatched trio of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Mourinho failed to achieve in a combined five-and-a-half years. Woeful.
The result was no one hit wonder as the affable Norwegian backed up the Bluebirds success with convincing wins over Huddersfield and Bournemouth, followed by consecutive 2-0 victories against Newcastle and Reading.
United looked refreshed and rejuvenated, with glimpses of the swagger of old. However, the inevitable questions surrounding the standard of opponents surfaced, which Solskjaer’s men nonchalantly swatted aside in a 1-0 Wembley win over Spurs, managed by a certain Mauricio Pochettino.
The Tottenham manager is an obvious long-term successor to Mourinho, but if United have any chance of luring him over to Old Trafford they’d have to hurl a staggering amount of dosh in Daniel Levy’s direction.
Alternatively, United have a potential diamond in Solskjaer, who has rapidly boosted both confidence and moral, brought smiles to faces, and slashed the gap between United and the top-four to just three points - after Mourinho’s final game it was a gargantuan 11 points.
Solskjaer could be to United what Zinedine Zidane was to Real Madrid.
Back in the early days of 2016 the Spanish giants sacked Rafa Benitez and took a gamble on club legend Zidane, who had been managing their second team - his only experience in the dugout.
However, the managerial novice took the sudden opportunity in simply stunning fashion, as he went on to win three straight Champions League trophies, La Liga, Supercopa de Espana, a couple of UEFA Super Cup, and two FIFA Club World Cups. Easy peasy this manager lark.
Now, we are by no means saying that Solskjaer is going to have the same sensational impact at United as Zidane had at Real. For starters, he doesn’t have Cristiano Ronaldo in his ranks.
However, in a short period of time the former striker has catapulted Marcus Rashford into one of the form players in the league, Paul Pogba is shining and smiling once more, while United are actually exciting to watch.
What a difference five weeks makes hey.
Solskjaer now has an impressive new record in his sights as he attempts to become the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven league games in charge of a club. He can surpass the duo of Carlo Ancelotti (ex-Chelsea) and Man City’s Pep Guardiola in a week's time when Burnley rock up at The Theatre of Dreams. Three more points and his name is cemented in history. Pep who?
It’s worth noting that Solskjaer has the chance to end his interim spell with a trophy or two. Next up for his troops is a trip to Arsenal (Friday) in the fourth round of the FA Cup, while United have a last-16 Champions League tie against PSG on the horizon, which they will now approach with buckets of optimism instead of absolute dread.
In the PL era, only Carlo Ancelotti & Pep Guardiola have won their opening 6 league games in charge of a club
