Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues to divide Manchester United fans’ opinions, however so far in the Champions League he has got it spot on.
Despite a poor start to the Premier League season Manchester United began their Champions League campaign in style.
United fans feared the worst as they travelled to last season’s finalists Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes last Tuesday, but goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford saw the Red Devils take all three points in Group H.
Solskjaer has set his side an aim for the remainder of the group stages ahead of Wednesday’s clash against table-toppers RB Leipzig.
‘To get to 10 points as quickly as possible is our aim, and we’re focusing on the three points tomorrow night,’ he said.
Since losing 6-1 at home to Tottenham in the Premier League on October 4th, United have made improvements defensively conceding just two goals in their last three matches. Solskjaer has talked about the impact of defensive midfielder Fred after his solid performance against Chelsea on Saturday.
‘He’s a very valuable player. He’s a great boy and his performances have been positive,’
Manchester United’s opponents RB Leipzig have started the season in fine form and currently sit top of the Bundesliga – only dropping points against Bayer Leverkusen and having won their other four league matches.
Their Champions League campaign has got off to a flyer too following their 2-0 win at home to Istanbul Basaksehir last Tuesday – which saw on loan Manchester City left back Angelino score both their goals.
RB Leipig pose a different threat to PSG, with a very versatile squad that attack with pace and defend with a deadly press.
Their manager Julian Nagelsmann has turned them from a top-six side to title contenders and he likes his sides to be versatile – which is seen by the plethora of formations Leipzig have used over the last year.
Depending on the opponent Nagelsmann will utilise either a 3-4-3, 5-3-2 or a 4-4-2 formation. Planning for the unpredictability of the German’s system will prove a challenge for Solskjaer.
As things stand both clubs will be confident of qualifying for the knockout stages but, after defeat by United, PSG will undoubtedly raise their game as the group-stage phase progresses.
Which makes Wednesday’s clash even more important for Manchester United and RB Leipzig.
