Manchester United sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager after Watford defeat

After a disappointing start to the 2021/22 season, Manchester United have officially parted ways with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The final decision was made during an emergency board meeting on Saturday night following United’s shock 4-1 defeat to Watford in the Premier League. Assistant coach Michael Carrick has been placed in temporary charge of the first team while the club hunts for an interim successor to Solskjaer until the end of the season.

“Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as manager,” read a statement on the club website. 

“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision. While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.”

“Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as manager and our very best wishes for the future. His place in the club’s history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family.”

“Michael Carrick will now take charge of the team for forthcoming games, while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season.”

Solskjaer joined United on an interim basis in December 2018 as a replacement for Jose Mourinho and was given the full-time job in March 2019. Although Solskjaer was unable to win a trophy during his spell as a manager – losing three semi-finals and a Europa League final – the Norwegian took United to a third-place finish in his first full season at the club before bettering that in his next campaign in 20/21, finishing second behind Manchester City.

Solskjaer was rewarded with a new three-year contract over the summer to go along with significant investment in the squad as with the signings of Jason Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane.

However, despite the significant outlay on transfers, United have significantly underperformed this season, winning just one of their previous seven league games and conceding 21 goals in 12 matches. The poor run of form included a humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool and a 2-0 defeat against neighbours Manchester City at Old Trafford. However, the final nail in the coffin came at Vicarage Road, with Solskjaer’s side losing 4-1 to newly-promoted Watford.

As for a replacement, United have announced that they will appoint an interim manager for the rest of the campaign before naming a permanent successor in the summer. Names that have been linked with the job include former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers and PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino.