Stats Highlight Incredible Up Turn in Form of Man Utd's Forwards Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Manchester United have been the Premier League's in-form team since the end of December when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over following the Old Trafford sacking of Jose Mourinho.
The numbers don't lie and United have taken more points than any other Premier League team - including title chasers Liverpool and Manchester City - since the Norwegian assumed control.
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United only managed 26 points from their first 17 games of the season under Mourinho. It was the worst record of any of the Premier League's top six, trailing leaders Liverpool by 19 points, fourth place Chelsea by 11 points and even fifth place Arsenal by as many as eight.
Since Solskjaer's arrival, things could hardly be more different. If the Premier League table had been reset upon his appointment, United would actually be top right now. Their 32 points from Solskjaer's 13 games is better than Liverpool's 31 over 14 games. United under Solskjaer are also 10 points better off than Tottenham and 12 points better off than Chelsea.
That tremendous turnaround in results is the product of restoring confidence to a group of players whose morale was on the floor in the final weeks of the Mourinho era.
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In particular, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford, United's three top scorers, have been like new players and are now performing at an incredible level compared to before.
Again, the numbers do not lie and Solskjaer deserves huge amounts of credit for being able to bring the quality out of these players in a way that Mourinho ultimately failed to.
Starting with Pogba, the World Cup winner has played fewer minutes under Solskjaer, yet he has scored nearly twice as many goals for the Norwegian, registered three more assists and has also almost halved his minutes per goal contribution (goals & assists) from 177 to 95.
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It means that where Pogba was once managing a goal or assist on average once every two games, he's now doing it close to one in one, which is what fans have long hoped for.
Paul Pogba's Goal Contributions Under Jose Mourinho & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:
2018/19 | Under Mourinho | Under Solskjaer |
Games Played | 20 | 17 |
Minutes Played | 1,597 | 1,512 |
Goals | 5 | 9 |
Assists | 4 | 7 |
Goal Involvements | 9 | 16 |
Mins per Goal | 319 | 168 |
Mins per Goal Involvement | 177 | 95 |
Lukaku hasn't been a regular starter under Solskjaer in the same way that he was under Mourinho, but despite this, his goalscoring has also improved. The Belgian has played fewer than 1,000 minutes for Solskjaer compared to more than 1,600 for Mourinho, but he's scored nine goals for his current boss after only managing six for the previous one.
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Like Pogba, his minutes per goal contribution has been slashed and is now at 85.
Romelu Lukaku's Goal Contributions Under Jose Mourinho & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:
2018/19 | Under Mourinho | Under Solskjaer |
Games Played | 22 | 16 |
Minutes Played | 1,639 | 931 |
Goals | 6 | 9 |
Assists | 1 | 2 |
Goal Involvements | 7 | 11 |
Mins per Goal | 273 | 103 |
Mins per Goal Involvement | 234 | 85 |
And the pattern of upturn continues with Rashford. The 21-year-old is the only one of the trio who has actually played more minutes under Solskjaer than he did for Mourinho - the result of starting games more often - and his goal tally has doubled. It was four for Mourinho and is eight for Solskjaer, with his minutes per goal dropping from 311 to 169.
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Interestingly, Rashford actually assisted more goals for Mourinho than he does now, five compared to two. That is because Solskjaer has utilised the starlet more as a central striker and typical 'number nine' than out wide, which is where he most often played for Mourinho.
Marcus Rashford's Goal Contributions Under Jose Mourinho & Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:
2018/19 | Under Mourinho | Under Solskjaer |
Games Played | 20 | 18 |
Minutes Played | 1,242 | 1,352 |
Goals | 4 | 8 |
Assists | 5 | 2 |
Goal Involvements | 9 | 10 |
Mins per Goal | 311 | 169 |
Mins per Goal Involvement | 138 | 135 |
All stats provided by Opta
United fans will be hoping the trio can keep up their improved form under Solskjaer for the rest of the season, with the club still fighting for a top four Premier League finish and still alive in the Champions League ahead of an upcoming quarter final against Barcelona.
