Eyebrows raised before Manchester United’s meeting with Chelsea swiftly fell as an instantly forgettable goalless draw ensued.
Harry Maguire’s headlock and a debut for Edinson Cavani stood out from a contest which sapped momentum earned in Tuesday’s stirring 2-1 victory at Paris Saint-Germain.
A curious continuation of the XI which beat Newcastle United 4-1 last weekend, and ignorance of players such as Alex Telles who shone so brightly in the City of Light, was the overriding theme.
Football is a sport in which teams reflect their managers. Should there then be any surprise when a listing United are led by the unformed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?
The Norwegian’s side are one of contrasts. Just like his reputation.
Is a, seemingly, permanent state of development all of which one of Europe’s great clubs can now aspire to? This is the question executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his American paymasters should ask themselves.
Solskjaer has neither shown himself to be the second coming of Sir Alex Ferguson no matter the latest run of impressive results, or proven to be as unspeakably out of his depth like David Moyes even in the aftermath of a 6-1 humbling by Tottenham Hotspur.
Saturday’s stalemate saw United fail to win their opening three home games for the first time since 1972/73. But the midweek win in the French capital witnessed 10-successive away triumphs, in all competitions, notched for the first time in this storied club’s 142-year history.
United registered 14 attempts on goal in both the Parc des Princes and Old Trafford. They veered from being consistently threatening at the home of the 2019/20 Champions League’s beaten finalists when deployed in a five-man defence for much of the running, to utterly toothless on familiar territory in a 4-2-3-1 formation against last term’s fourth-placed finishers in the Premier League.
Results have oscillated wildly.
Solskjaer’s epic 3-1 win at PSG in March 2019 purportedly earned him the full-time job and made it 14 victories from his opening 17 games. United would, though, then lose eight of the next 12 fixtures when 2018/19 ended in disarray.
Form throughout 2019/20 can be viewed through a similar, erratic, prism.
United sat 10th from seven games after their worst start to a season in 30 years. They would then, with January’s addition of Bruno Fernandes, finish up a fine third.
Post-match press conferences only sporadically provide true insight. Solskjaer’s response to the Chelsea result may have offered a revealing glimpse into his mind-set.
“It is a point on the board against a good team,†he said. “Last time we beat PSG we struggled big time.
“Our results were shocking. We hardly won a game.
“I am keen that it doesn’t happen again.â€
Is “keen†just a benign way to round off a question, or is it illuminating about the 47-year-old’s methods?
A lack of direction and inability to successfully develop phases of play has put the handbrake on an impressively assembled squad, just as much as Glazer parsimony.
Even inconsistency in criticism is enlightening. Solskjaer’s troops have floundered at various junctures against conservative sides who utilise dogged banks of defenders.
This trope has come to define his United. It is not, however, always entirely accurate.
Sheffield United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth and Aston Villa attempted to nullify them post-lockdown. But this quartet were hammered to such extent that a Premier League record was notched for most-consecutive victories by three or more goals.
Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola are contemporaries, now Solskjaer is at the helm of a fellow giant. So, too, the unemployed Mauricio Pochettino.
All have defined methodologies. But it is an impossible task to neatly summarise Solskjaer’s almost two years since he answered an emergency call when in charge of Molde.
There is ample good, plus incongruous bad. The only true constant is the absence of consistency.
How much longer should United tolerate someone, even a club great, learning on the job?
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