Manchester United produced an October comeback from 2-0 down to save the manager from a potential early season sack?
Sound familiar at all?
Make no mistake, if Manchester United’s second half had taken a turn for the worse and the team had lost by three or four to Atalanta, the appetite for changing the manager would have been insatiable.
Solskjaer’s United turned it around, winning 3-2 thanks to an inspired second half comeback thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rewind to 2018
Let’s go back to 2018 for a moment. Back on October 6 that year, Jose Mourinho’s United came into the game with talk of the sack swirling.
United conceded two early goals to Kenedy and Muto, and went in 2-0 down at half-time.
But the players did not give up on Mourinho. A stirring second half comeback saw United rally to a 3-2 win, with Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, and Alexis Sanchez scoring the goals.
Mourinho’s job was saved, but it didn’t really matter. Because he was sacked two months later.
A spark, or delaying the inevitable
Bringing this back to the present day, what we have to consider, is whether history is simply repeating itself.
United are in no rush over Solskjaer. But this result does ease a bit of pressure, even if the first half performance was a concern.
It buys him a bit more time though, with the perception that the players are continuing to fight for him. And that may be the reality too.
Unlike Mourinho, there has never really been a suggestion Solskjaer has lost the dressing room. Instead the concerns are over a lack of tactical acumen, and the manager’s lack of a proven track record.
It may all end up the same way in the end. This fixture is not the last tough one United will face over the coming weeks. It’s not even the last one against Atalanta.
United are two games into a 10 match stretch of big games, facing Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal among them in the Premier League, in addition to Champions League away matches.
If the concerns over Solskjaer’s tactics and know-how are accurate, then it will all end the same way. With him getting fired. Possibly when the damage is down and the team are out of the title race and out of the Champions League.
This could be a massive turning point for Solskjaer. But it was a false dawn for Mourinho.
And amid the excitement of the win, it’s important to bear that in mind, that Solskjaer’s fate really could go either way, and this might have just been a spectacular and enjoyable stay of execution.
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