Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Isn’t The Tactical Amateur He Is Widely Made Out To Be

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew how to celebrate a Manchester United win at the Parc des Princes because he’d done it before on the night that effectively persuaded the Old Trafford hierarchy to appoint him manager on a permanent basis. But United’s away win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday was a very different sort of win to the one registered back in March 2019.

While Solskjaer’s side rode their luck to eliminate PSG from the Champions League running in 2018/19, they fulled deserved to beat the French champions this time. In fact, the 2-1 scoreline could have been more emphatic had United been more clinical in the attacking third, with Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford all spurning opportunities before the latter’s winner.

Eyebrows were raised when the Manchester United team news dropped before kick off, with Fred and Scott McTominay favoured in central midfield over Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek. In defence, Solskjaer opted for an unfamiliar back three, with Alex Telles as a wing back and Luke Shaw on the left side of a back three.

The game plan worked to perfection, with PSG’s formidable attack largely repelled. It was the sort of tactical masterstroke many have claimed Solskjaer is incapable of. Indeed, the Norwegian has frequently been targeted for his supposed lack of strategic nous and grasp of the game’s inner mechanics. What happened in the French capital deal this notion a serious blow.

This wasn’t the first time Solskjaer has outmanoeuvred an elite level opposition manager. Last season saw Manchester United defeat rivals Manchester City no fewer than three times, with one of their best performances of the campaign coming in the 2-1 away win at the Etihad Stadium in December when Solskjaer got the better of Pep Guardiola.

There were also wins over Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City. If the biggest occasions against the best teams (and the best managers) are the greatest test a coach can face, Solskjaer has done a lot better than many are willing to give him credit for.

“We stick to our principles and we play the way we want to play,” Solskjaer explained over the summer, offering an insight into his tactical outlook. “We’ve had two formations and it’s still the same style that we want to play. When we think about the next game it’s 90/10 [determined by] ourselves, but you have to pay respect to any opposition.”

At times, it seems Solskjaer relies on the individual quality of his attackers to create opportunities. It is certainly true that Manchester United boast a number of players capable of conjuring a game-changing moment out of next to nothing with the Norwegian liberating a group that had been suppressed under Jose Mourinho.

But to suggest Solskjaer has no tactical grounding does a great disservice to what he has achieved over the last two years. Manchester United are in a much better place now than they were when he took over, and they are in a much better place now than they were this time last year when progress was difficult to see.

Solskjaer might not be a Guardiola or even a Jurgen Klopp in terms of the importance he places on the tactical education of his players, but when required the Norwegian can hold his own on a tactics board against the very best. He proved that at the Parc des Princes just as he has numerous times as Manchester United boss.