Chris Hatherall: Can new shape and golden oldies really take Man United forward?

The under-pressure United manager doesn’t have long to think about his new formation with Champions League midweek and the derby on Saturday

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gestures on the touchline during the Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Picture: John Walton/PA 

Manchester United have a found a solution to stop the rot, and a way to harness Cristiano Ronaldo’s talents, but now the question as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ponders the future of his new 3-5-2 formation is whether it’s the right one to take them forward.

The under-pressure United manager doesn’t have long to think about it. There is a Champions League trip to Atalanta in midweek, and then a Manchester derby against the noisy neighbours looming at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The difficulty of those two fixtures is likely to encourage the under-pressure Norwegian to stick to what looks like a more safety-first approach.

Atalanta ripped United apart in the first half of their last encounter, which saw United paper over the cracks by producing a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2. But the Italians will be no pushovers on Tuesday, and City offer an even bigger challenge at the weekend.

The bottom line is that United cannot afford to ship goals in either of those games — imagine the furore if they followed a 5-0 home defeat against Liverpool with a similar thrashing against City. It would almost certainly herald the end of Solsksjaer’s reign, despite the current patience of the board towards a legend who remains popular with the Old Trafford hierarchy despite recent results.

Expect to see 3-5-2 next weekend, expect a more defensive focus, and expect Solskjear to continue relying on the experience of Ronaldo and Cavani, having fielded his oldest ever team against Tottenham in a bid to save his job.

Whether the two veterans (with a combined age of 70 — or 72 by the end of February) can play both games is far more doubtful, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out in Italy. It would be a big ask to expect them to do so, although the fact that Ronaldo was taken off after 70 minutes in north London suggests it is by no means impossible.

The merits of the new formation were clear in a convincing and controlled 3-0 victory over Tottenham in which the return of Raphael Varane was key, settling quickly into the centre of a back three that also included Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.

The midfield included two defensive-minded players in Scott McTominay and Fred, giving Bruno Fernandes the opportunity to concentrate on creating — and Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka permission to bomb forward when in possession.

United didn’t over-stretch themselves even when they had the ball, however. The scoreline suggests an attacking away performance, but the reality was a steady, grafting, counter-attacking display against a poor Tottenham side which lacked energy or ambition.

There’s absolutely no doubt it was the right formation, on the right day, in the right moment. But can it really be the long-term solution?

The emergency response required Solskjaer to leave some of his most exciting young talents on the bench — including Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood, and Marcus Rashford — and no Manchester United manager likes to do that. Some, in fact, have lost their jobs for doing so.

It is also a formation that requires Ronaldo and Cavani to stay fit, which is no guarantee given their age, and which may not look as solid if any of the back three that played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are unavailable, because the back-up solutions don’t fill you with confidence.

But what option does Ole really have?

United have been painfully inconsistent this season and conceded nine goals in their two previous Premier League games, so something had to change, and nobody was going to complain no matter what solution he came up with.

In many ways, that was the easy bit, now comes the tougher part: turning this United team into a consistent, title-chasing side which wins week-in, week-out and doesn’t ship five goals one week and then win 3-0 the next. He needs players who are reliable, who provide consistent performances, who defend properly, and are ruthless in front of goal.

Ronaldo, in particular, proved he can be relied upon at Tottenham despite the criticism which had been aimed his way in a week in which some critics suggested he was hampering United’s progress and a significant part of the problem.

His opening goal, a finish of the highest quality, was the key to victory, and the Portuguese talisman is guaranteed to score more if players around him perform and if the manager trusts him, which he clearly does.

The big test of United’s new formation comes next Saturday because Manchester City will not be a lame duck like Tottenham Hotspur, and the pressure on Solskjaer to ‘attack, attack, attack’ at Old Trafford is far greater than it is on the road.

If he’s brave, he’ll stick to his guns, rely on Varane & Co to keep City out and look to Ronaldo provide the magic when it’s needed.

Could that policy take United all the way to the end of the season and to a title tilt? Well, that’s far harder to say, and most critics will probably say: ‘No chance’.

That’s not something Solskjaer needs to worry about just yet, however. Having stumbled on a formation that could save his bacon, the Norwegian should grab the opportunity and let fly. If it works against Manchester City next weekend, his job will be a whole lot safer.