Gary Neville gives verdict on Man United’s title prospects under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Gary Neville reckons Manchester United are in a stronger position to challenge for the Premier League title under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Gary Neville reckons Manchester United are in a stronger position to win the Premier League title under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than when Jose Mourinho was in charge.
The Red Devils were held to a 0-0 draw with Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon as Solskjaer’s side extended their unbeaten away run to 20 games.
Manchester United are in second position and 12 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
The 20-time English champions haven’t won the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson stood down as manager in 2013 following his 13th top-flight crown.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer have all attempted to restore Manchester United to the top of English football.
Mourinho led Manchester United to a second-placed finish in 2017-18 before the Portuguese head coach was sacked in December 2018 following a 3-1 loss to Liverpool FC.
However, Sky Sports pundit Neville reckons the current Manchester United side are better placed to challenge for the Premier League title than they were under Mourinho.
“Over the last 12 months, Manchester United have put an incredible run of results together. The points tally has been big, year to year,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“I come back to my time at Manchester United, if I came to Stamford Bridge, and we kept a clean sheet and we came away with a point.
“We quite often lost to Chelsea at Old Trafford, let alone at Stamford Bridge, we had a poor record against them. You always want to win every single game – but this is a tough place to play.
“So those Manchester United players going back on that bus tonight can say that they’ve taken part in those 20 matches away from home, they deserve great congratulations for that.
“There’ll be some criticism from United fans saying why didn’t they go and win it, why weren’t they more positive, and rightly so. United should always strive to do that.
“But to actually go 20 games away from home needs applauding because it’s hard to do that. What do you use to demonstrate teams that have got good character and personality?
“They’re good away from home, they’re good on set pieces, they look like they want to play with each other.
“Their away form is outstanding and that that takes some resilience, to go 20 games unbeaten away from home. It takes some.
“That’s why I think this Manchester United team is better suited than the one from two or three years ago under Jose Mourinho that finished second.
“I actually feel there’s a better spirit. I think they’ve got a far better chance of winning the league in the next two or three years than they were under Jose a couple of years ago.
“I thought it was a strange bunch of lads, they just didn’t seem to like each other. They didn’t really appeal to me as a fan.
“I think they’re going in the right direction. Whether they get there or not, that’s another matter; we’ll know in the future. But they’re certainly going in the right direction.”
Manchester United will make the trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils will travel to Premier League leaders Manchester City in the derby next Sunday.
Manchester United haven’t won the Premier League title since 2013.
