Counter attack proving the secret to Solskjaer’s Manchester United success
Not for the first time during the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United won yesterday without controlling the game in terms of either possession or attempts at goal.
Some of the more skeptical fans at the club, and some - albeit increasingly few - do remain pro Jose Mourinho, have argued that the team hasn’t been playing any better of late than they were under the Portuguese.
What constitutes ‘better’, of course, is highly subjective, but there can be no doubt that Solskjer has the team playing very differently and ultimately more effective to a huge degree. The Red Devils have, quite simply, been devastating in transitioning from defence to attack where previously they had looked laboured and lost.
No matter how much possession a team has, how quick they are in exploiting a lack of defensive cover in the opposition is absolutely pivotal. It is, after all, far easier to score from such situations, as well as individual errors, when your opponent isn’t set.
While Leicester’s title winning side are the most obvious exponent of the counter attack in recent years, the likes of Paris Saint-Germain (8) and Borussia Dortmund (6) lead the way in terms of goals on the break in Europe’s top five leagues this season and lead their respective divisions comfortably.
United’s first goal at Craven Cottage came having dispossessed Sebastien Le Marchand just outside the Fulham box, while their second was a fast break and fine solo goal from Anthony Martial.
The latter was the third goal that Solskjaer’s side had scored on the counter in the league under the new manager. It was also enough to match the number of total attempts the team managed on the break under Mourinho this season, having failed to score any of those three efforts.
No team in the Premier League had attempted fewer, while United’s tally of eight attempts on the counter since Solskjaer’s appointment is the most in the league in that time.
Mourinho would often suggest that the players weren’t good enough, and maybe they weren’t to play the football that he wanted, but his successor has proven that playing to the strengths of the team’s most exciting attacking players can reap real rewards.
Indeed, the three players that seemed most stifled under the previous regime are the three that are leading the renaissance under the Norwegian. Paul Pogba’s ability to pick out that killer pass over or through a defence is now a common sight, and so too is either Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford isolating defenders and getting beyond the backline.
In order to see both on a regular basis, United need to be patient at times and make peace with the fact that they may not have the majority of possession. Instead of controlling games with the ball, they’re doing so without it now and deserves credit for doing the simple things right and getting the most out of his match winners where Mourinho was failing quite spectacularly.
