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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Steven Railston

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should know his Manchester United gameplan to beat Leeds

Manchester City, PSG and RB Leipzig.

Manchester United beating some of Europe's most elite sides under the tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is no coincidence, and the Norweigan has emphatically squashed any doubts over his managerial ability since his permanent appointment two years ago.

When United met Leeds earlier in the season they arguably produced one of their most dominant performances of his tenure, though, with Scott McTominay scoring twice in the first three minutes to set the tone for that clash at Old Trafford.

The Reds scored six goals in a single Premier League game for the first time since their 8-2 win over Arsenal in August 2011 on that occasion while also inflicting one of the worst defeats of Marcelo Bielsa's career for over two decades.

It was a swashbuckling display, although recent performances from Leeds suggest it won't be that straight forward this time around.

Leeds secured a point at Elland Road against Liverpool in midweek and before that game they stunned the league leaders, emerging as 2-1 winners at the Etihad against Manchester City despite playing the second half with 10-men.

Their defensive credentials have been rightly scrutinised since their return to the Premier League, but they have seemingly tightened up their backline in recent weeks, and conceding two against those two sides pays testament to their improvement.

While all of Bielsa's sides can be characterised with an emphasis on attacking football with great intensity, Leeds won points against Man City and Liverpool through a slightly different approach and United will need to be wary of their counter-attacks.

Leeds needed just two shots to score two goals against City, with both of those efforts coming from outside the box, and they've now scored more from outside the area (12) than any other Premier League side this season.

United will need to be wary of this and Solskjaer may need to tinker with his game plan to account for the threat Leeds' poise from such transitions, as the Reds' historic rivals have shown they can be ruthless on the counter-attack.

This might influence the way Solskajer approaches the game and it seems highly likely that this Leeds side will offer a significantly tougher challenge for United to overcome than when the two sides last met this campaign.

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