Manchester United today confirmed that caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been awarded the managerial position on a full-time basis with a three-year contract.
It's the least that Solskjaer deserves after he has complete transformation of United since he first walked back through the doors just over four months ago.
The Norwegian has got United back into contention for the top four, somehow managed to get to an improbable Champions League quarter-final and has reignited the careers of some of United's biggest players.
Perhaps most importantly the new United manager has got United playing exciting football once again. He has received praise and plaudits for “taking the shackles off”, a far-cry away from the boring, defensive style that was served up under Jose Mourinho.
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Here's how the stats prove that Solskjaer has changed United for the better compared to his predecessors Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
Goals
United are now scoring more freely under Solskjaer than under the last two managers.
The team has averaged 2.1 goals per game in all competitions under Solskjaer.
That’s the highest average since the 1.8 per game averaged under Mourinho in 2017/18.
Season // Manager // Goals per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // 1.6
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 1.5
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 1.6
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 1.8
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 1.6
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 2.1
Expected goals
Expected goals have improved under Solskjaer - but not by much.
They’re up to 1.7 per game compared to 1.5 per game in van Gaal’s last season and 1.6 per game in every season under Mourinho.
Season // Manager // xG per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // not available
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 1.5
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 1.6
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 1.6
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 1.6
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 1.7
Shots
Manchester United are currently averaging fewer shots per game than at any point in the last five seasons.
They’ve averaged 12.1 per game under Solskjaer, which is actually fewer than they had averaged under Mourinho this season (12.6 per
game).
The high point came in Mourinho’s first season when they averaged 14.1 shots per game.
Season // Manager // Shots per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // 13.5
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 12.7
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 14.1
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 13.1
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 12.6
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 12.1
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Possession
One reason that shots are down is likely to be that United are seeing less of the ball.
Solskjaer’s United have averaged 51% of possession this season. That’s down from 60% in Van Gaal’s last season with the club.
Season // Manager // Possession per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // 59%
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 60%
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 55%
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 55%
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 52%
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 51%
Counter attacks
United are now hitting teams on the counter almost four times a game on average.
That’s also higher than in any of the last four seasons, but is only marginally better than the 3.8 per game average in Jose Mourinho’s second season at the club.
Season // Manager // Counters per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // not available
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 3.3
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 2.4
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 3.8
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 3.5
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 3.9
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Shots per game
United’s defensive heyday was in 2016/17 when opponents averaged just 9.1 shots per game.
That went up to as much as 13.4 per game under Mourinho this season and has dropped slightly to 11.8 per game under Solskjaer.
Season // Manager // Shots against per game
2014/15 // Louis van Gaal // 10.1
2015/16 // Louis van Gaal // 9.7
2016/17 // Jose Mourinho // 9.1
2017/18 // Jose Mourinho // 11.4
2018/19 // Jose Mourinho // 13.4
2018/19 // Ole Gunnar Solskjaer // 11.8
