After the Liverpool humiliation, Solskjær took action, but not everyone understood the Norwegian’s choice.
With 0-5 in the bag against Liverpool at Old Trafford, Solskjær decided to change to a 3-5-2 formation. It immediately resulted in a 3-0 win over Tottenham, before a draw against Atalanta and a 2-0 loss to city rivals Manchester City.
After the loss to the latter, former Liverpool and United player Michael Owen went against the formation change, which he believes does not suit the team’s players.
– You have to look beyond the tip of the nose and think «this is the way we should play, no matter what. We will buy players for these positions and play this way ».
– If things go wrong and you concede five goals against Liverpool, you do not think “the defense is rubbish, so let’s put in an extra player there.” That’s ridiculous, Owen thought.
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Silvestre: – Understand that
Mikael Silvestre, who played with Solskjær at United between 1999 and 2008 and, however, is clear that the team needed a change after the loss to Liverpool.
– There were concerns related to the number of targets allowed. Last season it was the opposite. Then the rear four was very robust, also with David de Gea behind. It was strong, says Silvestre Manchester Evening News.
– It was an emergency reaction, something I can understand. And I was in favor of the decision because you need confidence that you will not let in many goals. This means that the attack and the midfield can express themselves more and become more free, he continues.
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At the same time, Silvestre believes that Manchester United has a tradition of four players in the back joint, although he can be positive to a three with two wing backs.
– You can not produce the offensive football that you should when you let in many goals. That is obviously not the tradition. There has always been a back four in United, which creates more options going forward.
– But it is a mindset, and even with that formation you can have the wingbacks who are very offensive and act like wings. Formation is one thing, but how you express yourself is another. The margins are very small.
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Scholes: – He’s useless
Another who agrees more with Owen is Paul Scholes. After the loss to City, he also slaughtered the 3-5-2 formation Solskjær had chosen.
He thinks a big challenge for Solskjær then is Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He does not think the 23-year-old is good enough to take on the role of wingback.
– I have said before that 3-5-2 does not suit the players in the team. Wan-Bissaka is useless with the ball. He is a brilliant defender, but useless with the ball on the right back.
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On Saturday we will find out if Solskjær continues with 3-5-2, goes back to 4-2-3-1 or maybe tries a new variant.
Then Manchester United will meet Watford on Vicarage Road. Match start is 16.00.
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