Ole Gunnar Solskjaer marked his 100th game in charge of Manchester United with a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
It seems a long, long time ago now that the Norwegian led United to 14 wins from his first 17 games at the club.
The new manager-effect soon wore off and Solskjaer’s record was sprinkled with a few more defeats.
There have been plenty of positives to take during his reign at Old Trafford. In 2020, they’ve beaten Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
But Sunday’s defeat was another frustrating outing in which Solskjaer’s tactical naivety was exposed.
Every week on Twitter, you’ll see some calls for #OleOut. The 47-year-old himself must be starting to feel the heat, having lost three out of his first six league games in 2020/21.
But before we start talking about Solskjaer’s replacement, it’s worth comparing his record after 100 games to that of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.
Klopp arrived at Liverpool in October 2015 and five years on, he’s turned them into one of the strongest teams in Europe.
It’s hard to imagine Solskjaer achieving a similar rise at United, but he does have a better record than the German after 100 games in charge.
Solskjaer vs Klopp after 100 games
Here’s the breakdown…
Games: Solskjaer: 100 - Klopp: 100
Won: 56 - 50
Drawn: 20 - 29
Lost: 24 - 21
Goals scored: 186 - 182
Goals conceded: 104 - 108
Points: 188 - 179
Points per game: 1.88 - 1.79
Win percentage: 56% - 50%
- Solskjaer’s United achieved six more wins over their 100 games than Klopp’s Liverpool. Despite losing more matches, they collected nine more points in that time
- The Red Devils also scored more goals and conceded fewer in their first 100 games under Solskjaer
- Neither manager led their team to a trophy in their first 100 games in charge. Solskjaer’s United have been beaten in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, while Klopp guided Liverpool to two finals - the League Cup and Europa League - but lost both.
So Solskjaer has the better overall record. But in the Premier League, Klopp outperformed the Norwegian in their first 100 games.
Premier League games: Solskjaer: 65 - Klopp: 69
Won: 32 - 35
Drawn: 17 - 20
Lost: 16 - 14
Goals scored: 111 - 136
Goals conceded: 74 - 85
Points: 113 - 125
Points per game: 1.74 - 1.81
Win percentage: 49.2% - 50.7%
- Klopp took charge of more Premier League games in his first 100 overall games than Solskjaer. The German’s win percentage was 50.7%, compared to Solskjaer’s 49.2%.
- If Solskjaer wins three out of their next four league games, then he will match Klopp’s number of league wins from 69 games. If he wins his next four games, then he will surpass the German’s tally.
So even in the Premier League, Solskjaer isn’t far behind Klopp.
But the Liverpool boss managed to earn plaudits by guiding his team to two finals in his first season at the club, and then improved upon their eighth-place finish in 2015/16 by finishing in the top four the following campaign.
United, though, are heading backwards. They’re 15th in the table and have failed to win any of their four league matches at Old Trafford this season.
Klopp is now closing in on 300 matches in charge of Liverpool.
Will Solskjaer get that luxury? It’s looking doubtful.