Norwegian forward brings United’s resurgence to a halt

Manchester United’s recent upturn in form was brought to an end on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 at Bournemouth thanks to a goal from Josh King. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had looked to have turned a corner following an impressive run of form since the international break, as they followed up an encouraging 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Liverpool by winning three games on the spin across all competitions.
Coming up against a Bournemouth side that had failed to win any of their previous five games, the Red Devils would have fancied their chances of continuing their resurgence on the south coast, but their old inadequacies at both ends of the pitch reared their ugly head once again.
To add insult to injury, the Cherries goal was scored by former United youngster King, who also netted the winner the only previous time Bournemouth beat United in the top flight back in 2015.
There was also an element of irony about King scoring the winner as he is a current Norway international and he could well have heaped the pressure back on the shoulders of compatriot Solskjaer, himself a prolific forward with the Scandinavian country during the 1990s and 2000s.
The Red Devils’ recent uplift in form had dampened the seemingly constant speculation surrounding Solskjaer’s future, but that talk is now likely to intensify once again.
Indeed, the Manchester giants could find themselves back in the bottom half of the standings come the end of the weekend, a remarkable thought given we are now into November.
Next up for United will be back-to-back home games against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League and Brighton in the Premier League and a maximum return from those games is surely a must if Solskjaer is to have a long-term future in the Old Trafford hot-seat.
Away games against Sheffield United and Astana are to follow for United after the international break and, with the first Manchester derby of the season against City on the horizon, we could be entering do-or-die territory for Solskjaer.
The 46-year-old succeeded Jose Mourinho as United boss, initially on a temporary basis, in December last year, although there are no guarantees he will celebrate one year in charge.