blurred, which was a pretty remarkable situation given the starkness of a 5-0 defeat to your greatest rivals, and what amounted to one of the club’s worst ever results.
This after almost three years on the job when United are supposed to be on the cusp of properly challenging. Solskjaer himself spoke after the game that they are “so close”.
Close to what, exactly?
There were hugely worrying gaps between the players in the team, that were the inevitable development of a side without any coordinated press or attacking approach. It all gave in.
What was so concerning about this game was not just that it displayed the tactical difference between Solskjaer and a manager like Jurgen Klopp?
It was the difference of application within that, as if United had finally just dropped off. It was just so easy for Liverpool.
Everything they did was almost casual. It should have been a huge alarm.
The problem is that it feels like the picture is blurred around Solskjaer, too.
There’s more to it than key officials like Ed Woodward have been convinced that he can be a transformative figure, and that critics will be proved wrong.
United have so overtly placed Solskjaer at the centre of a so-called “cultural reset”, that is supposed to be about positivity and a new mood.
