The\nNorwegian threw on his two big-name replacements and was given immediate\nrewards as United beat Newcastle on Wednesday with two late goals<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether\nit\u2019s playing the opposition off the park or delivering the key decisions at the\nvital moment, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cannot seem to do any wrong right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nwasn\u2019t a vibrant attacking performance full of goals and showreel highlights\nlike the trio which had preceded it, but Manchester United\u2019s 2-0 win over\nNewcastle United at St James\u2019 Park on Wednesday night gave further proof that\nSolskjaer has injected something new into his side\u2019s make-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthrowing on players as talented as Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez for the\nfinal half-hour, the United caretaker manager must have known there was half a\nchance his substitutes would deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But\nthe former Everton man\u2019s immediate opener, and then the involvement of both\nreplacements in Marcus Rashford\u2019s clinching second, would have delighted the\nman who made his name as a super-sub during his 11-year playing spell at Old\nTrafford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe first half, there was nowhere near as much of the sharpness or intensity of\ntheir three previous performances on display, with the occasional opportunity\nat one end often being offset by one calamity or another at the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And\nwhile United initially headed out after the break with a little more vigour, it\nwas soon the home side ramping up the pressure once more as Christian Atsu\ncontinued to cause problems for Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\nNewcastle set up in their familiar tight block, this was always likely to be\nSolskjaer\u2019s toughest test yet and so it played out for much of the first hour.\nBut when it came to him having to make a tactical switch, the Norwegian was in\nthe most privileged position in his four-game reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having\nbrought Lukaku off the bench again Bournemouth on Sunday, this time he had both\nthe Belgian and Alexis Sanchez to call upon. And when he threw the pair into\nthe action in the 63rd minute, Lukaku repaid him immediately with the kind of\nimpact Solskjaer himself would have been proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rashford\u2019s\ndipping free-kick caused trouble for Martin Dubravka, and Lukaku was on hand to\nsweep home the loose ball with his first touch of the game only 38 seconds\nafter his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just\nas there had been a feeling beginning to grow that Solskjaer\u2019s magic was about\nto be truly tested, the goal simply sparked even louder and more raucous\nrenditions of the numerous songs featuring the former striker\u2019s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nwas an inevitability that United would get opportunities on the counter as\nNewcastle searched for an opening, and after Lukaku made progress down the\nright, Sanchez took his fellow sub\u2019s pass and played a delightful ball to the\nunmarked Rashford to slide home their second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
United\nfound a way to win, which in many ways had been the hallmark of what little\nprogress they made under Jose Mourinho earlier in the season, but it was done\nin a very different way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nwas no Marouane Fellaini and no resorting to long, aimless balls. Instead, they\nstuck by the principals which Solskjaer has been so keen to promote and picked\noff Newcastle when the chances came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsame caveat remains after this victory in that United have still to face a\ntop-half team since the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool which spelt the end of\nMourinho, but this was as big a statement as the 5-1 mauling of Cardiff in its\nown way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solskjaer\nnot only got the clean sheet he was so desperate for, but he also got his\nplayers to show their guts when necessary while also retaining a coolness about\ntheir attacking approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nwill also be a boost to see that Chelsea dropped points as United begin the\nlong haul that is regaining an involvement in top-four talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four\ngames, four wins, 14 goals, finally a clean sheet, and Solskjaer showing he\nstill has the special touch when it comes to substitutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Goal.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Norwegian threw on his two big-name replacements and was given immediate rewards as United beat Newcastle on Wednesday with two late goals Whether it\u2019s playing the opposition off the park or delivering the key decisions at the vital moment, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cannot seem to do any wrong right now. This wasn\u2019t a vibrant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":7364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n