Source: The Telegraph
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Manchester United XI vs Cardiff:
De Gea, Ashely Young, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford
The Premier League match vs Cardiff saw the first game in charge for the new interim manager of Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The mood was much better and more positive around the club as a whole following the departure of Mourinho and the appointment of Solskjaer, the only icing on the cake for United fans would have been a win at Cardiff. And this is exactly what happened, United ran out emphatic 5-1 winners against Cardiff marking Solskjaer’s new reign in style.
The five goals for United were scored by Marcus Rashford, Ander Herrera, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard with a brace. This was a stark change from the United performances we have come to expect under Mourinho, the team played with a fast pace and tempo and were able to dominate and control the whole game whilst also being able to put the ball into the net, which is something we struggled with under our former manager. The 5-1 result didn’t flatter United as they were the dominate team and thoroughly deserved to come out on top against Cardiff.
The result leaves us still in sixth place but now only eight points off of Chelsea who are in fourth. And if performances like this continue, then we can safely say that Manchester United are back in the race for a top 4 spot.
What’s next for United?
The reign under Solskjaer looks like it may be a much more fruitful one than under Jose Mourinho. It was clear that the team played with more freedom and more desire than in the past few weeks. The players all looked up for the new challenge under Solskjaer and they all looked like they were ready to, once again, fight for the United shirt.
In terms of players, there was a clear improvement in performances all round, but especially for the like of Martial and Pogba who looked like different players in this game in comparison to previous games under the former boss. Martial had a great game and was contender for man of the match as he scored a stunningly worked goal and had an overall great performance in the shirt. Additionally, Rashford continued his great form and got in with another goal yet again. It is very exciting for the future of the club when we see our young talents start to perform consistently for the club, and under Solskjaer we hope that this can continue.