Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identifies Manchester United's biggest title rivals

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly views Chelsea as Manchester United’s biggest title rival this season ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool.

Club legend Solskjaer is desperate to bring the Premier League title back to Old Trafford for the first time since 2011, when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge.

In a bid to win the league, Manchester United bolstered Solskjaer’s squad with the exciting signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane this summer.

The Red Devils finished second last season – 12 points behind arch-rivals Man City – and have taken seven points from their first three games of the 2021-22 campaign.

Even at this early stage of the season, it appears as though four teams – United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool – are a level above their domestic rivals.

And Solskjaer privately fears Thomas Tuchel’s European champions Chelsea more than Man City and Liverpool, according to The Sun.

The Blues have thrived since Tuchel replaced club legend Frank Lampard in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat last January, winning the Champions League last term and reaching the FA Cup final.

Like Manchester United, Chelsea also enjoyed a productive transfer window, spending almost £100m on elite striker Romelu Lukaku and securing a loan deal for talented midfielder Saul Niguez.

The Sun say Solskjaer is confident his United team can end the club’s wait for a Premier League title and has even told the squad that they are better than the treble-winners of 1999.

But the Norwegian boss is said to be wary of Chelsea’s brilliant squad and hopes the decision to sell Lukaku in 2019 does not come back to bite Manchester United.

Manchester City have won the title in three of the past four years but failed to bring Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane to the Etihad after a lengthy pursuit.

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Pep Guardiola’s side, who have taken six points from their first three games, did however break the British transfer record by signing Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100.

Liverpool only finished third last season but won the title in 2020 and will improve following the return of star defender Virgil van Dijk from injury.

Speaking last week, Gary Neville insisted Ronaldo’s arrival at Old Trafford brought Manchester United into the title conversation, but said Man City and Chelsea were still the two frontrunners to win the league.

‘I made the prediction that it would be Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United [in that order] and I’m not going to change that because of the signing of Ronaldo,’ Neville told Sky Sports.

‘I’m going to stick with that because I don’t think the Ronaldo signing makes them a better team than Chelsea, who were the Champions League winners last season, or Manchester City, who were 20 points clear.

‘Absolutely it brings them closer to winning the title, it will absolutely get them closer. But do I think it will win them the title at this point? No I don’t. But now I’m more excited about Manchester United challenging for the title than I was maybe five or six days ago.

‘I don’t think they will. I want them to. Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane will have the mentality to win United the title, there’s no doubt, but if I had to put my house on it now, do I think they’ll win the title this season? No. But I’m desperate for them to win the title. I’m just being pragmatic.

‘I think there’s an element that you have to be in for these players if you’re Manchester United. Whether that wins you the title or not, I’m unsure. It gives them a far better chance than they had 48 hours ago.

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‘He isn’t coming for Champions League places. He’s coming for personal accolades and titles. There is no doubt about that. I hope that he can be the difference, because if he gets 10% out of every other player there’s a big chance. There’s a big chance.

‘But let’s be clear, Manchester City have been exceptional for the last three or four seasons. Chelsea just won the Champions League and now have a better team this season. So they’re also against the best two teams in Europe, three if you count Liverpool.

‘The Premier League is at the highest standard it has been for a long, long time. It’s not an easy Premier League this one, it’s got back to the top level in Europe and I think Manchester United are up against really good sides.

‘In years gone by I might have said this Man United team will win the title by 10 points, but it’s such a strong Premier League this one.’

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