Manchester United: When the smile returns

Under coach Jose Mourinho, the weakness of MU's central defenders has been continuously exploited by the opponent. The Red Devils once planned to spend up to 65 million pounds to buy Harry Maguire from Leicester, borrow Jerome Boateng from Bayern Munich or Diego Godin from Atletico Madrid. But until now, no central defender has come to Old Trafford, and Man United has declined in the Premier League, at one point the number of goals conceded was ranked 16th out of 20 teams participating in this tournament.

Revive the defense

In December 2018, after Solskjaer replaced Mourinho, the Red Devils' defense improved significantly. The same faces as Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones were still present, but coach Solskjaer did a good job of psychological work and reformed the playing style, helping them gradually regain their form.

Rashford could be on the field this weekend. Photo: Reuters

In 19 games in charge in all competitions, MU kept a clean sheet 7 times and only conceded 17 goals. Although after 30 rounds, MU still conceded 40 goals, the most among the top 6 teams, much larger than Liverpool's number - the strongest defense in the Premier League, only conceded 18 goals, but it must be said that MU's defense is reviving.

This at least saves MU 50 million pounds, making Man United officials very impressed with that improvement, the money the center-back target will spend on recruiting stars for other positions.

According to recent information, Man United have changed their target to buy a center-back to buy a right-back and a top-class defensive midfielder. They are ready to spend 80 million pounds to convince 19-year-old English talent, Jadon Sancho to leave Borussia Dortmund to play at Old Trafford.

Under Solskjaer, Man United have regained their form, winning 14 of the 19 matches the Norwegian coach has played at Old Trafford. But with injuries to key players such as Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial, MU's attack has struggled.

Solskjaer suffered his first defeat when he lost to Arsenal in the Premier League, then lost to Wolves in the FA Cup. There were times when MU's "injured squad" reached 11, making fans anxious and wondering how coach Solskjaer would manage.

In fact, in that situation, coach Solskjaer boldly promoted young players Tahith Chong, Angel Gomes, Ethan Hamilton to the field to test his skills. He tried to encourage the players who usually sit on the bench Dalot, McTominay to shoulder the responsibility in the difficult period, avoiding losing the goal of the top 4 Premier League.

No longer maintaining the winning streak, MU is still in 5th place and only 2 points behind Arsenal who are next above, 1 point ahead of Chelsea. The best thing is that MU won 3-1 against PSG, MU came from behind to enter the Champions League quarter-finals with such a patchwork lineup.

8 players "escaped" injury

Good news for MU, after the rain the sky is clear again, Daily Mirror revealed this weekend, when stars Rashford, Shaw, Matic and Martial returned to the field. All 4 players did not participate in the recent international matches so they quickly recovered from injuries and returned with "fresh" legs. Among them, Matic, Rashford and Martial are the players who will wear the starting shirt right after recovering from injuries because they are all pillars of MU this season.

Striker Alexis Sanchez will be sidelined for another three weeks with a knee ligament injury. Photo: Reuters

Equally good news is that Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian also seem ready to return from injury. Lukaku's recovery from his foot is progressing well, it may take a little more time but he will definitely be there for the final rounds of the season.

Striker Alexis Sanchez will be out for another three weeks with a knee ligament injury. But the Chilean striker has long been just the third backup option in MU's attack.

On the way to the “finish line” of the season, there is nothing more joyful than when the day that Man United fans have been waiting for has finally arrived when coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signed an official 3-year contract. Meanwhile, the “wounded soldiers” are ready to put on their shoes and enter the field.

Man Utd officially appoints Solskjaer

The Norwegian coach was signed on a three-year contract with the Old Trafford team after more than four months working in an interim capacity.