Nemanja Matic opened the scoring for Manchester United today, with fellow midfielder Paul Pogba bagging a brace en route to the Red Devils’ 3-1 victory over lowly Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford. The Boxing Day triumph was exactly what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed in his home debut as United caretaker manager.
There have only been two games with the Norwegian in charge so far, but both brought more free-wheeling, high-octane football, and a total of eight goals scored. The United supporter community is rejuvenated, and there seems to be a new air of excitement surrounding the club.
The fact that it’s a club legend leading the charge, one who scored 91 times in 235 appearances over the span of 11 years, makes a huge difference. The “one of their own” aspect of this narrative further ramps up the positivity of the situation. Matic pointed out how the atmosphere is “more positive” since the club moved on from manager Jose Mourinho.
“Our manager made a great career here and the supporters here love him and will never forget him and that’s right,” Matic told the club’s official web channel MUTV after the match.
“Because of him the atmosphere here was more positive today. I hope that he will do great things as a manager because he is a great person. I can’t say anything more because it’s only a short time with us but I wish him the best.”
If the results continue to look like this, then perhaps the 45-year-old interim boss will be more strongly considered as a potential permanent manager. What we do know is that Solskjaer is more prone to taking the shackles off the team and just letting them play.
Up next for Nemanja Matic and company in this festive period of fixture congestion is a Sunday clash at home against AFC Bournemouth.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.