Everton vs Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must take next step after much-needed win

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After a traumatic defeat, an encouraging win. So it seems to go with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose hopes of making his spell in charge of Manchester United a long and successful one are still alive. And it’s the hope that kills you.

We have been here before. There was the point against a relentless Liverpool at Old Trafford last year, the victories over Tottenham and Manchester City before Christmas, the 19-game unbeaten run after losing to Burnley back in January, the wins against Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle and RB Leipzig just last month.

This tight albeit deserved and much-needed victory away at Goodison Park now joins the list. There are many doubts about Solskjaer’s managerial ability but delivering these get-out-of-jail performances and results precisely when he needs them may be his greatest skill. It is certainly a useful one to have in a job with the pressures of United.

He and his players deserve credit for their 3-1 win, taking three points despite unfavourable circumstances. This lunchtime kick-off came less than 72 hours since the final whistle against Istanbul Basaksehir and after a long trip back from Turkey. The comical defensive chaos seen at the Fatih Terim Stadium was mercifully not on show here.

Everton, meanwhile, may be in something of a rut - this was Carlo Ancelotti’s third straight league defeat and fourth without a win - but are a vastly different proposition this season and a test for any visitor to Goodison. When Bernard gave the home side the lead, tucking a shot inside David de Gea’s right-hand post after 19 minutes, United looked off the pace again.

Up stepped Bruno Fernandes. The player who transformed the second half of United’s season upon arrival in January has struggled for form of late. He has a high-risk, high-reward player. Much of what he attempts does not come off and that can be a source of frustration for supporters, his team-mates and manager alike. Yet when it does come off, it often makes the difference.

The movement and the header on Luke Shaw’s cross which levelled the scores displayed the presence of mind that Fernandes’ play sometimes lacks. His second was a touch fortunate - precisely because Marcus Rashford did not touch his cross, which bounced in off the far post with Jordan Pickford deceived - but again, he was the reason why his team were ahead. If nothing else, Fernandes is always willing to take on responsibility and drag his team back into a contest.  

But even with this eagerness to dominate games, he can be a selfless player at times too when it is in the wider interests of the team. On a hat-trick and bearing down on goal in the final seconds, after Abdoulaye Doucouré could have equalised at the other end, he instead laid a pass left to Edinson Cavani to tap in his first for United. It symbolised a dressing room unity and togetherness that some pundits have questioned in recent weeks.

Doubts have been raised about the character of the United players this week but their mood is a complex one. Recent difficulties are bound to raise doubts but the players enjoy working under Solskjaer and - like the board and the fans - want him to succeed. This was further evidence that they are playing for their manager rather than against him and they did not need to go out and “smash somebody” in order to prove that.

At the same time, as much as this was a welcome win, the debate over this challenging start to the season will continue and it should. Everybody agrees that Solskjaer’s United are inconsistent. By their very nature, inconsistent teams win sometimes. Sometimes, they even win impressively. The challenge is to maintain that standard. And if they fail in that, and the inconsistency creeps back in, victory begins to lose its potentially transformative quality.

That is where the Solskjaer era stands at the moment, even after these vital three points. Another disappointing defeat always feels just around the corner. They have to prove otherwise. They have to build on this and stave off the defeat, the dismal defending, the despair. That’s the next step. Because it’s not the despair that’s the problem, really. You can stand the despair. It’s the hope.

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