MANCHESTER UNITED TAKING A HEAD START ON THE RACE TO THE TOP
Two matches one win and one draw. Not a bad way to kick start the new Premier League campaign especially considering the fact that such a positive result is coming from a Manchester United team who had made only three signings this past Summer transfer window with two of the signings being players of defensive caliber in English center-back Harry McGuire and English right-back Aaron Wan Bissaka.
Too early to tell if Manchester United can indeed be successful in pulling off the goal of securing a spot in the Premier Leagues top four places come end of the season but one certainty that so far remains constant is that Ole Gunner Solskjaer and his Manchester United team has definitely given themselves a very good fighting opportunity to stake their claim to rightfully finish on one of the top four spots of the Premier League table.
Coming into the new season and as the 2019 summer transfer window neared its conclusion, the big question coming in Manchester United direction appeared to be if the Manchester United team are strong enough tactically on the pitch to go all the way and call themselves Premier League champions at the end of the season? While the season remains at such a very early stage to make claims here are where Manchester United have shown major improvements on so far:
Attacking intensity. Last season before Ole Gunner Solskjears managerial term we witnessed a Manchester United team who settled for sitting back on their defensive mindset, socking up all the pressure from their opponents and bearly mustering any major attacking threat of their own. The lack of attacking strategy lead Manchester United to becoming one the top teams that conceded the least amount of goals and much as conceding fewer goals was considered a positive for Manchester United this also lead to Manchester United taking fewer risks on the attacking front which lead to more dropped points and less attacking possibilities under Jose Mourinho.
Current manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer recognized the situation and quickly got to work on fixing the problem by switching the Manchester United style from a 4-3-3 formation to a more progressive, more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation. Since the formation change, Manchester United have been able to express themselves fully on the pitch and even allow players such as Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and a host of other Manchester United stars to rediscover their best form under Ole Gunner Solskjaer.
Defensive boost. Under the leadership of manager Jose Mourinho manchester, United was known to be a bit shaky in their defensive conceding an average of 33 goals in a season. While the statistic might be impressive given as how despite conceding 33 all season, Manchester United was still unable to claim a place in the top 4 spots of the Premier League table or win the premier league competition under Mourinho. The reason for Manchester United's lack of success in the last few seasons simply is because the Red Devils were unable to attack their opponents because Mourinho was concerned that a mass attack would leave Manchester United's fragile defense vulnerable to break through against strong opponents. Solskjaer seems to have rectified the problem.
As far as the case of strong wing-backs goes, Manchester United seems to have found two solutions in the form of Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan Bissaka to fill both the left-back and the right-back positions respectively. The two wing-backs started the season in great fashion by putting up magnificent performances against Chelsea and Wolverhampton by making impactful defensive challenges successfully when needed and making lung-bursting runs to support Manchester United's attacks when necessary. Over the past couple of seasons, Manchester United have been accused of having inadequate wing-backs and urged to make changes if the club wants to have a serious chance of competing for trophies. With the addition of Aaron Wanbissaka and the return of a healthy Luke Shaw, it seems manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer has listened to the pleas of the Manchester United fans and delivered two efficient players whom will more than likely have bigger game time in the future. With quality wing backs such as Mateo Darmian, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Diogo Dalot all yet to play major games this season, Manchester United seems to have found an answer to the wing-back situation that plagued the Red Devils under Jose Mourinho’s tenure.
Positive attack: With the way manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer has his team running, the fast pace, the crisp passing, the persistent to search for goals scoring opportunities and the technical know-how to score goals at any possible opportunity Manchester United have shown their intentions of being regarded as title challengers very seriously so far. In the past 3-4 seasons prior to Ole Gunner Solskjears managerial period Manchester United had barely come close to breaking into the top 4 spot in the Premier League table let alone win the entire Premier League competition, Solskjaer might still have a long way to go before he can start to dream of becoming the first manager to deliver a major trophy back to Old Trafford, however, the positive sign Manchester United have shown to start the 2019/20 season with serve as a major startup that might help Manchester United reach their goals this year come end of the season.
Finally, Manchester United had the entire summer to assemble a team that can lift the Premier League trophy and now it’s time to see if the Manchester United team can deliver. Should Solskjaer lead the team to promise land, it will be fitting that one of Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager able to do what no other manager could do since Sir Alex Ferguson himself was able to accomplish which is win the Premier League trophy.
