The Norwegian has proved a popular figure amongst the Manchester United players but the defeat to Aston Villa showed a weakness in his managerial attributes — and he must address it if the Red Devils are to win a trophy this season
For the second time in the space of a week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left with a bitter taste in his mouth after Manchester United was beaten again.
Bruno Fernandes’ late penalty miss meant Manchester United lost their unbeaten record in the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, just days after losing to West Ham in the Carabao Cup by the same scoreline.
The Norwegian was less than pleased with the attempts from Aston Villa’s players to delay the Portuguese’s spot-kick and play psychological games to distract the playmaker as he stepped up from 12 yards.
They surrounded Fernandes and referee Mike Dean to protest against the decision, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez allegedly told Fernandes he wished Cristiano Ronaldo was taking the penalty.
Regardless of whether it was moral or sportsmanlike, it worked a treat as the Villains (no pun intended) took home all three points.
It pointed to the kind of “dark arts” that managers have embraced to gain victory. In their own style, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, and Thomas Tuchel have all found ways to gain the psychological edge over opponents.
In this instance, Solskjaer is the odd man out, for he is yet to find the solution to his problems at Old Trafford.
Football is about results, pure and simple. If results are not favorable, everything else — whether it is free-flowing attacking football or a generally impressive performance — takes a backseat.
Dean Smith sent his side out there to frustrate United and they achieved that, before stealing a late winner. It wasn’t pretty, but there was nothing illegal or immoral about what his side did on Saturday afternoon.
And that is something that Solskjaer has failed to grasp, as evidenced by his bizarre post-match comments about Aston Villa’s behavior.
“I wasn’t going to mention it but it’s not right that they do that,” Solskjaer said in his post-match interview. I guess that should be a yellow card for someone but they have achieved what they wanted. The way they get around the penalty spot, get around Bruno… that’s not to my liking.”
In order to win, you need to be ruthless. You need to be willing to do things the opposition aren’t, and that may include treading the thin line between what is acceptable in the laws of the game.
The Portuguese told his group of players they were “very nice” before adding: “But for 90 minutes, you cannot be nice.”
“For 90 minutes you have to be a bunch of c***s. Intelligent c***s. Not stupid c***s. B******* in the sense that you are there to win matches.”
The Norwegian has received backing like no other manager since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and there is a reason for that — he has shown incremental improvements in every season he has managed.
While his predecessors David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Mourinho all complained about not getting the players they wanted, Solskjaer got Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, and Ronaldo.
And that is partly the reason why failing to win a trophy this season can no longer be acceptable, especially with the Portuguese superstar leading the line.
The 36-year-old has already shown he still has plenty of life left in him with four goals in five appearances since signing from Juventus on transfer deadline day.
That is what football fans have come to expect from Ronaldo — and what Ronaldo expects from himself. In return, he needs to be the main man, rather than fighting for the spotlight amongst other strong characters.
Fernandes has an impeccable record when it comes to taking penalties, scoring 21 of his 22 taken for United since his arrival in January. But when it comes to personalities for the big occasions, there are none more equipped to block out the noise than Ronaldo.
Sticking to his guns and insisting Fernandes is his penalty taker may keep the players on his side, but Solskjaer will know the pressure on his shoulders will only grow if he ignores his star man for important duties like penalty-taking.
Managers have to make tough decisions, sometimes unpopular ones. But just as Chelsea boss Tuchel benefitted by bringing on Kepa Arrizabalaga for Edouard Mendy in the 119th minute in the UEFA Super Cup solely for the penalty shootout, Solskjaer needs to make similarly brave calls.
The pressure on him is not yet at an untenable level. After all, he only recently signed a new four-year contract and it would take a horrendous series of events to convince the United board that he is no longer the right man for the job.
But he has now had three defeats from four games and losing against Villarreal would be simply disastrous for his side’s prospects of qualifying from their group on Tuesday.
In order to win a trophy and firstly get his side winning again, Solskjaer may have to deviate from the path he has trodden at Old Trafford — and show that somewhere deep down, there is a nasty streak in his managerial repertoire.