Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has again managed to eclipse Jose Mourinho’s win total for the club in the 2018-19 season, this time in all competitions.
The Red Devils caretaker manager added yet another success to his impressive start at Old Trafford, claiming a 2-0 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition .
First-half goals from Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba proved the difference for Solskjaer’s side as they went to Stamford Bridge and came away with the win.
Bouncing back from a setback last week at Old Trafford against Paris Saint-Germain, Solskjaer now has his side back to winning ways ahead of this weekend’s clash against rivals Liverpool.
And in the process, Solskjaer bested his predecessor in the win column yet again.
A few weeks ago, the Norwegian netted his eighth Premier League win at the helm, surpassing Mourinho’s total of seven for the season .
On Monday, Solskjaer made it 11 wins from 13 games, outclassing Mourinho, who managed just 10 victories in 24 games before he was sacked in December.
It is no surprise to see United having success under Solskjaer, as he has given new life to Paul Pogba.
With his goal and assist for Herrera’s opener, Pogba has now been directly involved in 15 goals since Solskjaer was appointed.
The only Premier League player who can boast a better record over that span that is Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son, who has scored and assisted a combined 16 goals.
Likewise, it dwarfs what Pogba did with Mourinho, as the midfielder managed five goals and four assists in 20 games under the Portuguese manager.
And yet, Solskjaer, who has reinvigorated Pogba and many of the team’s other stars with a more attacking philosophy, had a Mourinho-esque possession stat in the win over Chelsea.
The Red Devils saw just 33.1 per cent of the ball in the contest and still came away with the victory. That was their lowest possession total in nearly a year – Mourinho’s side in March 2018 only managed 32.1% against Liverpool but also came out victorious.
The key to that success without the ball comes in blunting your opposition, and United did that very well against Maurizio Sarri’s attack.
Chelsea managed only two shots on target in the entire contest, with both attempts coming in the 11th minute.
It was only the second time in 51 cup outings the Blues have been held off the scoreboard, with the other coming in January 2018 against Arsenal in a scoreless Carabao Cup semi-final leg.
Chelsea will aim to bounce back from the disappointment in their midweek fixture against Malmo in the Europa League, holding a 2-1 advantage in the tie as it shifts back to Stamford Bridge.