According to the latest reports, ex-Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has slammed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tactics after the 4-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday in the Premier League. The Dutchman also labeled that Solskjaer “parked the bus” against Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie last week.
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as caretaker of Manchester United back in December he initially turned the fortunes of the club and brought the good times back after Jose Mourinho’s departure. The 56-year-old Portuguese boss left United in a shambles by not getting the desired results and performances which the United faithful were keen to see from their team.
Solskjaer’s arrival revitalized the club and they strung together a bunch of positive results which helped the club compete for a Champions League place for now. The English side also completed a massive comeback against Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germain after trailing 2-0 to go on and win 3-1 at the Parc des Princes. These impressive performances, along with results, gave Manchester United hope that Solskjaer could lead the club on a permanent job and therefore the Norwegian was handed a three-year contract.
The results have not gone smoothly for Manchester United ever since as they have now lost five out of their last seven games across all competitions. The English giants crashed out of the Champions League after Barcelona hammered Manchester United 3-0 in the second leg of the quarterfinals after defeating them 1-0 at Old Trafford. However, Solskjaer received a hearing from Louis Van Gaal following the 3-0 loss to the Catalonians as he thought that the 46-year-old “parked the bus” at the Camp Nou.
While speaking to the Daily Mirror the 67 year old van Gaal said that Solskjaer plays a defensive brand of football and that is not something the Manchester United will take kindly in the near future, “I can see how Ole had some impact in the beginning, because United was ninth in the table when he took over and the team was nothing, United had been playing anti-football, as I call it, but do not think that Ole is not afraid to park the bus either — he is more defensive than you think. I have been watching the team, because I always look at United still, and Ole parked the bus against Arsenal. He did it against Tottenham in the league. In stages against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona in the Champions League. He plays against all the big teams like that. There is more emphasis on defense than on attacking or wanting to play dominant football. I actually call it parking the bus. Ole is not just outside the 18-yard box. He parks the bus right in front of [goalkeeper] David de Gea.”
🗣 “If you want to play at this club, it has to mean more. I want my team to be the hardest working team in this league. I’m going to be successful here, and there are players here that won’t be part of that successful team.”
– Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. pic.twitter.com/LHj7O8Hzdb
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 21, 2019
Manchester United also lost 4-0 to Merseyside club Everton on Sunday and are still looking to win the Premier League title after Sir Alex Ferguson left the club back in 2013. David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have all tried and failed. It will be interesting to see what Ole can do now.
