Guardiola: United playing well under Solskjaer
City boss says Red Devils are getting 'incredible results' under their interim manager
Manchester United's interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has earned praise from rival boss Pep Guardiola, after starting his Old Trafford tenure with a perfect record.
"His start is much better than mine, I lost my first game and drew the second," Guardiola said, after Manchester City beat Burton Albion 9-0 in the League Cup semi-final, first leg yesterday morning (Singapore time).
| TOTTENHAM | MAN UNITED |
"He won all the games. He is a young manager, getting incredible results. I saw a few minutes of games they played and they played good."
To be sure, Guardiola faced much tougher opponents when he started his City stint in 2016.
His first match in charge was a 1-0 loss to his former club Bayern Munich in a friendly, which was followed by a 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in another pre-season match.
However, he won his first 10 competitive matches with City, a run which was ended by a 3-3 draw with Celtic in the Champions League.
In contrast, Solskjaer started his tenure against easier opponents - Cardiff City (5-1), Huddersfield Town (3-1), Bournemouth (4-1), Newcastle United (2-0) in the EPL and Reading (2-0) in the FA Cup third round.
But it gets trickier from here.
United face Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley in a match that Solskjaer described as his first "proper test" on Monday morning (Singapore time).
Spurs beat Mourinho's United 3-0 at Old Trafford in August and the London club have won their last three home games against United.
Mauricio Pochettino's men have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions and are third in the table, just six points behind leaders Liverpool.
However, United's five-match winning run has given the players confidence, said midfielder Paul Pogba, who has scored four goals in four matches under Solskjaer.
Not surprisingly, the Frenchman was voted the club's Player of the Month by fans.
Pogba told the club website during their warm-weather training camp in Dubai that they are looking to extend their winning run.
"We're Manchester United so that should be a basic thing for us," he said.
"Obviously, we know that the Premier League is hard and we have a lot of games but those five games give us more confidence.
"Mentally, we're strong and ready. For the rest of the season, we just want to do the same and carry on like that."
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