Manchester United boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has disclosed the tactic he deployed to outsmart Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola as his boys enjoyed a 2-0 victory over their rivals in the derby at Old Trafford last Sunday.
The result saw them completing the league double over the Citizens for the first time since 2009/10 and sealing a third victory against Guardiola’s men this term.
The manager spoke to MUTV, Sky Sports and at the post-match press conference after a memorable and raucous late afternoon at the Theatre of Dreams, with the crowd still buzzing long after the final whistle after goals by Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay.
Speaking of his tactical superiority, he said: “At times, we pressed and pushed them back and we tried to be aggressive with the wing-backs and three up front. So we ended up with three at the back, and, when we hit the press, I think we made them make mistakes and, of course, we’re happy with the result.
“I can’t put my finger on anything, but, at times, you’d like to defend with the ball sometimes but I’m not going to complain.
“Anthony and Bruno [Fernandes] have hit it off but Bruno is that type of player. Of course, we’ve got set routines and I’ve seen them do it before. We’re going to improve as a team, they’re going to improve as players, because, you know, there were two or three times today, head up and we score goals.
“Twice Dan James could just square it, once for Bruno, one for Anthony. Anthony should square it for Bruno. Those little things they’ll come, but it’s a privilege because they want to learn as well and they listen to the advice we give them.”
Credit to the boys
Manchester United have beaten City three times this season and Ole is giving the players all the glory.
“I haven’t beaten Pep three times, it’s my players that have. Yes, I do believe in my capabilities of improving this club as much as I can.”
“It’s a privilege to have players like this. The desire and work-rate, that’s what I think the fans love about these players.
“To see the connections between the players, the team and the fans today – what an atmosphere. At the end, seeing everyone in the stands. You turn around and you see Sir Alex [Ferguson] up there, he is proud and it’s a big moment for every one of us.”
What the result means
Ole said the Red Devils are aiming for the top four this season and the win over neighbours was a massive boost.
“It’s a massive win because Leicester and City, we have to look up and try to catch them. We can’t afford to give points away too often, like last week against Everton, when it was there for us. Maybe we have made amends.”
“The result is always the deciding factor. I’m so happy with a win and another three points. The performance was as as expected against them because you know that you have to defend well.
“The first 15-20 minutes were harder than maybe we should have made it. We started hurrying them and harassing them higher up and created chances, we had some big ones.”
“We feel we’re improving all the time and we know we lack one, two or three players and some experience, to be considered a title contender.
“We know that and we’re not going to start talking about that now. We’re going to start talking about getting up up the table, getting more points and challenging for that top four because Chelsea and Leicester are too far ahead of us for my liking,” he said.
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