On Sunday night, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer joined an elite club by becoming the first Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to pull off the league double against Manchester City.
The Blue Moon has risen since Ferguson’s retirement, with City winning three Premier League titles even as United resembled more of a digital agency than a football team.
Since he took over as interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure has been a mixed bag. From the highs of Paris to a 2-0 loss to Burnley at Old Trafford, OGS’ reign so far has made United fans fully contemplate the vagaries of life.
Yet, Solskjaer pulled off something his predecessors – Messrs Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho didn’t – the league double over Manchester City.
Solskjaer’s team are also unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions and this is the first time they did the double over the Citizens since 2009-10.
Back then it was a thrilling contest. The first match saw Manchester United win 4-3 at Old Trafford, with Michael Owen scoring the winner deep in injury time. It was a time when Carlos Tevez swapped red for blue and became a thorn against Ferguson’s side.
It was in Ferguson’s words, probably the ‘best derby of all time’. In the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium, Paul Scholes ghosted a goal deep into injury time to keep United in the hunt for the title, but they eventually lost out to Chelsea on the last day of the season.
10 years later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer repeated the feat. In the first fixture, United ripped City to shreds in the first half with a rampant Rashford making City look schoolboys for the first thirty minutes.
United ran out 2-1 winners eventually and there was an air of shock among city fans.
United have looked like a different beast since Bruno Fernandes came on board in January as he almost appears to have a Cantonasque effect on United. They haven’t lost a game since the Portuguese came on board but the villain for derby will be Ederson who was at fault for first goals.
For the first one, Fernandes set up Martial with a brilliant free-kick who escaped Sergio Aguero’s attentions to shoot it home.
Scott McTominay added a sensational second in the dying minutes when an off-his-line Ederson threw the ball to him, allowing him to score a sweet strike.
While Solskajer still has to bridge the gap with Liverpool who are 37 points ahead! But it’s a different United who first lost 2-0 to Liverpool and then by the same scoreline to Burnley.
Now with three wins over Guardiola, Ole Gunnar Solskajer’s Manchester United reign is again looking up and running. On the other hand, Man City’s two-year Champions League ban could mean that even fifth spot could be good enough to qualify for Europe’s mega-piece event.