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The Norwegian has had a sensational and record debut, but the next matches will really define his season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is firmly committed to calculating Manchester United's permanent director position after a record-breaking reign as acting leader.
After the seemingly terminal gloom and decline related to Jose Mourinho's tenure, the Norwegian inspired an overnight transformation, with several players transfiguring.
Indeed, Solskjaer has led United to eight consecutive wins in his first eight games at the helm and, while some may say the timing is good, it remains a feat that even Sir Alex Ferguson has failed to accomplish .
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The club is undefeated for 11 games, all competitions, before being abruptly stopped by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last Tuesday.
The way Solskjaer and his players will react to this defeat will be an indicator of things to come and a real test for a team that has already demonstrated a wave of positivity.
"You can see that we have not played games of this level for a while and that we will have to learn from this experience," Solskjaer said. BT Sport after the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
"It's one of those experiences where it can go one way or the other, it will not be an experience that will define the season for us, but an experience from which we will learn."
They will certainly have to learn quickly, the list of matches preparing a series of difficult matches, all of which could be decisive.
However, if United manages to make its way unscathed or at least suffer the least damage possible, it will be relatively easy to prepare to close the season.
With the Red Devils heal their wounds and regrouping after the defeat of the PSG, Goal take a look at the games that will define the season of United and Solskjaer.
Manchester United fixtures
* The table above shows United's upcoming games, but is likely to change based on his progress in the FA Cup and Champions League.
Games that will define the season of Man Utd & Solskjaer
As you can see in the table above, United is now in a delicate period. First, on February 18, they take Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge.
At first sight, a meeting with a team of Chelsea that seems in disarray augurs well for United. Maurizio Sarri's men have suffered several humiliating defeats in recent weeks. They lost 4-0 to Bournemouth and 6-0 to Manchester City. The performances left a lot to be desired.
Indeed, it seems as though the Italian's time has run out, but he might be able to see the season if he can chart his way to the FA Cup final. The men of Solskjaer will have to be wary of the negative reactions of the Blues when they will face them.
In either case, the result of the game will have a training effect. a win will add another match to their schedule (the weekend of March 16 – at the same time as they must play Manchester City), while a defeat could ease the pressure by reducing intensity of the next few months.
A week after the shock of the FA Cup against Chelsea on February 24, the rival of United Liverpool at Old Trafford in the Premier League. Surprisingly, Solskjaer raised the Red Devils to fourth place in the division and they are now on their way to automatic qualifying in the Champions League – a distant hope under Mourinho.
Jurgen Klopp's men also have a difficult life, but they are far from the catastrophe that strikes Chelsea. After taking a huge lead in the title race, the Merseyside team has surprisingly yielded to Manchester City and is catching up with Pep Guardiola's team again.
Nevertheless, the Reds have proven themselves worthy of pretenders and will be ready for the match against United, presumably encouraged by the fact that they inflicted a 3-1 defeat at Anfield earlier this season – the game's last nail in the game. the coffin of Mourinho.
Three days later, United made the trip south to face the resurgence of the Crystal Palace and three days later, he welcomed a Southampton team in a desperate battle to avoid relegation. With successive matches so quickly, it will be a test of the depth of the United team, especially with PSG on the horizon on March 6th.
United heads to Paris for the second leg of the last first leg of the Champions League with the last 16 games. The battle is tough to stay in the competition. He needs at least three goals from the start. If they beat the odds and win, that means they will have to play at least two more games in April, a month that already contains four league games.
Arsenal in the UAE follows the match against PSG and this meeting could well be a six-point score in the race for the Champions League. The teams played a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in December. United came twice from behind to save a point.
Things have undoubtedly changed since then and the Gunners have shown a disturbing inconsistency, which should give some optimism to United fans, even if they are far from home.
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Depending on the situation in February against Chelsea, United could be forced to face a FA Cup quarterfinal on the same weekend that he has to play. Manchester City during the second derby of the season, otherwise the match will be reprogrammed.
As it stands, the city's rivals are expected to face March 16 at Old Trafford, just under a week after United's game against Arsenal. The Guardiola team triumphed 3-1 at Etihad in November and Solskjaer will be keen to turn things around in front of the home fans.
The Manchester Derby marks the end of a particularly difficult series of matches for United and the remaining matches are relatively easier – on paper, that is to say. League games against Watford, Wolves, West Ham and Everton follow, while Chelsea, Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City are the last three games of the season for United.
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