Manchester United became associated with collecting cups and playing counter-attacking football during Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure at the club.
Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and Cristiano Ronaldo established a relentless offensive trio in the 2007-08 season, guiding the team to its tenth Premier League and second Champions League win.
Rooney and Ronaldo always teamed to score classic counter-attack goals, including one of the greatest of all time in the 2009 Champions League semi-final against Arsenal.
Under David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho, United strayed from these values, but new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has restored them.
Marcus Rashford and Daniel James, for example, have always used their blistering speed and movement to transform defense into offense in a matter of seconds.
Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, and Edinson Cavani combined for a brilliant breakaway score in United's recent 6-2 victory over Roma, evoking memories of the Ronaldo, Tevez, and Rooney front three.
“We've focused on those [movements] ever since I came because that's Man United,” Solskjaer said after a December 2019 victory over Manchester City. “You might term it counter-attacking, but it seems really pessimistic.
“For me, it's fast, offensive, moving the football with the right purpose, and when we win it, there's no point in keeping it back to the ‘keeper if the opportunities to play against them are there, which we did.”
According to Manchester United Under-23s' 6-2 victory over Derby County, the ideology is ingrained in all of the Carrington squads.
With the score tied at 2-2, Will Fish headed the ball away from hazard, and Hannibal Mejbri controlled it with his thigh.
Instead of keeping it easy, Mejbri played like Fernandes, spotting the sprint of 16-year-old Omari Forson as United shot forward like the red arrows.
After that, Anthony Elanga did his finest Usain Bolt imitation and drove across the center of the pitch before getting picked out by Forson.
Though Derby's goalkeeper saved Elanga's shot, Shola Shoretire was on hand to tap in from close range and bring United ahead.
If Solskjaer wishes to keep the counter-attacking philosophy going in the coming years, he just has to look to United's Under-23s.
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