Manchester United already have tactical blueprint to win against Pep Guardiola

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a tactically flawed Manchester United manager but he knew how to get a Manchester derby result.

Solskjaer was defeated 2-0 in his final derby in charge in November 2021, but he was sacked with an excellent record against Manchester City and that's something he can remember with great fondness.

Prior to his final derby, Solskjaer was the only manager to face Guardiola at least four times and have more wins than defeats, while his win percentage against the Catalan was equal with Antonio Conte and Luis Enrique.

ALSO READ: United give update on Mainoo

ALSO READ: Interview with Hojlund

It became clear in the final months of his reign that Solskjaer had taken the team as far as he could and although the players looked tactically neglected by that stage, he'd still been able to outwit Guardiola in multiple matches.

Solskjaer even did the league double over Guardiola in the 2019/20 season and that would be almost unthinkable now. United were hammered at the Etihad last term and they were inferior in the FA Cup final.

Solskjaer's four wins in the Manchester derby gave supporters a few brilliant days and they were all achieved in similar circumstances: United were the underdogs, they absorbed pressure during the game and were ruthless on the counter-attack.

The derby had a tendency to bring the best out of Solskjaer's teams and it always felt like a result was possible, regardless of how United were performing and whether City were sitting at the top of the Premier League table.

That counter-attacking blueprint was successful against City and Erik ten Hag secured his first derby win with a similar approach in January, following late goals in quick succession from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

C