Man Utd boss fails to return club to its glory days

By Can Erozden and Emre Asikci

ANKARA (AA) - Manchester United fired team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday following a string of poor results, with the Norwegian former forward unable to fulfill hopes of returning the Red Devils to their glory days as an English football powerhouse.

After the departure of the club's legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, in 2013, Manchester United entered a period of instability and turbulence as they underachieved in the English Premier League.

The team last won the Premier League title in 2013 with Ferguson at the helm.

During the Ferguson era from 1986-2013, Man Utd reached new heights as the Red Devils, including then-forward Solskjaer, became a formidable side in England and Europe.

Ferguson's men won 13 Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles.

Solskjaer was hired in late 2018 as a caretaker manager after Jose Mourinho was dismissed for his poor performance, returning to Old Trafford for the first time in 11 years.

As a player, Solskjaer made his Manchester United debut in 1996 and left the club in 2007.

Solskjaer ​​​​​​​scored 126 goals in 366 matches for the club.

He won 14 trophies during his 11-year spell at the Red Devils, including six Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League title.

But as a manager, Solskjaer could not remediate the club's poor run in the league. In addition, he was not able to win a major European trophy in his nearly three-year term.

Last season, Solskjaer's Manchester United came second with 74 points in the league, won by their archrivals Manchester City.

Man City racked up 86 points to be the 2021 English champions.

Additionally, Manchester United were dramatically beaten by Spain's Villarreal on penalties, losing the 2021 UEFA Europa League final, although the English team were the favorites.

But this season, things got worse in the domestic league.
Manchester United are currently in the eighth spot with 17 points, 12 points behind the leaders Chelsea.

With one-third of this season almost completed, Solskjaer's men are drifting away from the title race.

But a devastating 4-1 loss Saturday against Watford on the road trigged Solskjaer's exit.

In a previous fixture on Oct. 24, Manchester United suffered a disappointing 5-0 loss against Liverpool at home, irking the Red Devils and speeding up Solskjaer's dismissal.

- Scoring the winner in 1999 UCL final

On May 26, 1999, Solskjaer was the Man Utd hero in the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich, scoring a vital injury-time goal to bring Europe's top-tier club trophy to the English club.

The Norwegian forward will always be remembered for his winner in the 93rd minute as Manchester United dramatically won the 1999 Champions League title.

Solskjaer came off the bench in the 81st minute to shatter Bayern's hopes in the final held at Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium.

Manchester United came back from a 1-0 deficit to earn a 2-1 win in one of the notable Champions League finals.

Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Basler scored an early goal from a free-kick to draw first blood, but Man Utd waited until the last moment.
Manchester United pair Teddy Sheringham and Solskjaer netted second-half goals in stoppage time to shock Bayern.