As we all know Manchester United welcome Liverpool on Sunday in what feels like a huge game in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time as United boss. If United lose they will already be seven points behind their rivals who sit in 2nd.
United’s performances under Solskjaer were perfectly summed up in the 3-2 win over Atalanta in midweek. A second-half performance of threat, consistent attacking and a flurry of goals. But the first half of confusion, consistent mistakes, and a flurry of chances for the opposition; a tale of two halves would be an understatement.
In the MEN ’s Facebook Live, United on my Mind duo Casey Evans and Anil Kandola looked ahead to not only the Liverpool game but United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
CE : “You’ve seen it before this season and last with United going behind then pulling it out the bag. That’s simply unsustainable because when you play against teams like Liverpool and Man City, they won’t let you back into the game.
“Liverpool and City especially have a tactic to play 90% of games and they tend to change it up in the other 10% when they play the big games and that’s where you see some mistakes creep in.
“The fact is everyone knew Liverpool were going to score five against Watford. You talk to any United fan, that’s the one you know United will lose!
“Football is an emotional sport. I do want Solskjaer to do well. Obviously, there are some United fans who want him to go but I prefer us to try and fix a lot of problems. My worry is we get through this tough period and then we stumble at another point and be back to where we were.
“Until the day Solskjaer is not the manager anymore, I will back him and maybe that is because it delivered one of our best ever United moments or maybe because I like him as a person, but I want him to do well. It’s just whether he can do well.”
AK : “I’m glad I'm not in Ole’s shoes, to be honest with you. I can understand midweek was a good game for him and he’ll take it as a positive but the gulf in class between the two halves was incredibly worrying. If we play as we did in the second half of the Atalanta game against Liverpool, we may have a chance.
“But if we play anywhere near the way we did in that first half against Atalanta, Liverpool will be four or five goals ahead before half-time.
“I know that sounds extreme but the way Liverpool are dispatching of teams at the moment, they’re picking apart defensives and look comfortable against any team and this is, as much as it pains me to say it because it’s Liverpool, this is what a top team does.
“They don’t make the headlines for any negatives or slip-ups, they win comfortably and move on to the next game and I fear it’s United’s turn next. I don’t think Solskjaer can completely change my view on him in one game but if he can get a win it’ll certainly give him a lot more breathing space.
“The 4-2-4 may work in video games but if you play against Liverpool with four attackers who don’t want to track back then they’re going to pick United apart. This is my worry and this is an overriding theme with my problem with Solskjaer- every single game United are in, you’re just not confident.
“This is the issue. I don't have high expectations, I think it could be a cricket score and United won’t be the batting side let’s put it that way. It’s not the way United should be thinking but I think Solskjaer would snatch your hand off for a draw.”
CE : “I think it’s going to be hard for him. I kind of see why Solskjaer’s going with this 4-2-4 but it also looks like the formation you play on video games when you’re desperate to get a goal. I think it’s going to be a similar formation to what we’ve seen.
“I’d like to see Sancho on the right, Rashford on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo up top. You want Ronaldo in that big game and to do what he does best because that’s what we bought him for.”
How do you think United will fair against Liverpool? Follow our United on my Mind writers Casey Evans and Anil Kandola on Twitter and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
