The new interim manager has quickly realised he has a job on his hands to turn things around at Old Trafford
The festive programme in the Premier League is fabled for its surprises, but for Manchester United this was an unwelcome dose of déjà vu. From the start at St James’ Park, this game called to mind the early days of Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s reign, with this exact fixture his fourth game in charge – and fourth win – three years ago and precisely two weeks into his tenure at Old Trafford.
On that occasion at least club and fans were still basking in their escape from the José Mourinho psychodrama, and a sense of goodwill towards Solskjær was clear. The Norwegian had his fingerprints smeared generously over the victory too, his double substitution just after the hour – bringing on Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sánchez – swinging a game of high tension and low quality. It seemed feted, Lukaku breaking the deadlock 38 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute and Sánchez at the hub of Marcus Rashford’s goal which wrapped things up. It all added up to an underwhelming but successful performance, which mapped out with reasonable accuracy what we could come to expect from United for the next few years.
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