Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United are a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma wrapped in a paradox.
Following their blistering 6 – 2 win over Leeds United we are once again asking if they have turned a corner.
Manchester United have turned so many corners in recent years you have to wonder if Solskjaer is driving the team bus around some hellish, unrelenting, alternate quadrilateral dimension.
Incredibly, Manchester United are third in the Premier League with a game in hand. If they win that game, they will be two points behind leaders Liverpool.
Read: Champions League Draw – Initial Thoughts and Odds
After they crashed out of the Champions League, it looked as if the Solskjaer project was unravelling for the umpteenth time.
Like his team’s knack for winning games from behind this season, Solskjaer has an uncanny ability to rescue his job from the brink.
It’s a cycle that nobody can make sense of. Some of United’s performances this season have been horrible. They’ve started games slowly. They’ve flattered to deceive, shown naivety and a soft side. Yet somehow, they are being mentioned in conversations about the title race.
Before the season, United would have considered qualifying for the Champions League again as a success. They would have bitten your hand off if you told them they could be this close to Liverpool with 13 games played.
Read: Europa League Draw – Initial Thoughts and Odds
A title challenge is probably a stretch too far for them this year. You’re probably talking about a fight to be the best of the rest with Spurs, Chelsea, Leicester, Everton etc.
United have dropped into the Europa League, which will make things more difficult. It has one more round compared to the Champions League, as well as the more challenging Thursday/Sunday schedule.
We’ll have to wait until the season’s end to judge their performance. In the meantime, we’ll keep trying to make sense of the Old Trafford Conundrum.
