How Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's clever use of Paul Pogba against Liverpool almost won the game

[ASFN Admin]

One of the criticisms of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure as Manchester United manager is that he appears to lack a single football philosophy, his team not playing in an easily identifiable way as those belonging to superstars of the coaching world like Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola do. Solskjaer is proving that he doesn't need, or want, one particular way of playing. United adapt and evolve constantly, using different shapes, strategies and starting lineups from game to game and the XI named for the 0-0 draw with Liverpool were deployed in another new system, with tactical tweaks catered specifically to deal with the threat of the opponents and play to United’s strengths. In a tactical setup similar to Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli and Everton teams - who have both taken points from Liverpool - and a little borrowed from Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton, Bruno Fernandes started as a second striker, with Paul Pogba on the right wing in a 4-4-2, a position we haven't seen him play for United before (certainly not this season).

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