Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reached double figures for games managed at Manchester United over the weekend as his troops carved out a narrow 1-0 win at Leicester City.
The interim boss, who two months ago was managing Molde, is remarkably now unbeaten in his opening 10 matches since replacing Jose Mourinho, winning nine and drawing the other, but how does this record compare to the Premier League’s other high-profile managers (top-six) and their first games in charge of their respective clubs?
The Sportsman investigates…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Man Utd, interim manager)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 9
- Draws: 1
- Defeats: 0
- Win Rate: 90%
As stated, Solskjaer has amassed nine wins and a draw from 10 matches in all competitions, giving the Norwegian a stunning 90% win rate. As starts go, it's been near perfect and while tougher tests lie ahead this month, the affable boss is making it increasingly difficult for the club’s hierarchy to opt elsewhere for another permanent gaffer.
At the time of writing Solskjaer has overseen eight Premier League games, collecting 22 points from a possible 24, which may have only moved his troops up one place in the table but they have shredded the gap to the top-four to just two points.
Pep Guardiola (Man City)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 10
- Draws: 0
- Defeats: 0
- Win Rate: 100%
As stunning as Solskjaer’s start has been, over on the blue half of Manchester Pep Guardiola topped that with 10 wins from his opening 10 games in charge of City.
The perfect start included six straight wins in the Premier League, Champions League victories over Steaua Bucharest (home-and-away) and Borussia Monchengladbach, and a League Cup triumph over Swansea.
Only three managers in the Premier League era have won their opening six games - Guardiola, Solskjaer, and Carlo Ancelotti - although Guardiola’s City then slumped to six winless matches in all competitions, before finishing the season empty-handed. However, the Spaniard more than made up for that in his second season, storming to the Premier League in record-breaking fashion, while he also lifted the League Cup.
Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 6
- Draws: 3
- Defeats: 1
- Win Rate: 60%
Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool amid much fanfare following the club’s decision to sack Brendan Rodgers. The German endured a tepid start to life on Merseyside, drawing each of his opening three games against Spurs, Rubin Kazan and Southampton. However, he then shrugged off the cobwebs, winning seven of his subsequent eight games, with the only blip a shock defeat at home to Crystal Palace.
In total Klopp won six of his opening 10 matches in all competitions, losing just the once, while he registered three wins from six Premier League games. Liverpool ended the campaign down in 8th, and have since recorded back-to-back 4th-place finishes, while they hope this is the year they finally win that elusive Premier League title.
Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 5
- Draws: 3
- Defeats: 2
- Win Rate: 50%
Mauricio Pochettino is the longest-serving of the six managers featured in this article, having taken charge of Tottenham back in the summer of 2014 after he was lured over from Southampton.
Pochettino exploded out of the blocks, propelling Spurs to fours wins out of four, scoring 10 and conceding just one. However, a four-game winless streak followed, then there was a cup success over Nottingham Forest, and a debut derby draw away to Arsenal.
Form his first six league games, Pochettino won only twice against West Ham and QPR, while he lost to Liverpool and West Brom, and drew with Sunderland and Arsenal.
Unai Emery (Arsenal)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 8
- Draws: 0
- Defeats: 2
- Win Rate: 80%
Arsenal started a season without Arsene Wenger in the dugout for the first time since 1996, and it’s fair to say it didn’t go to plan straight away as replacement Unai Emery lost to Man City and Chelsea in his opening eight games. But, the Spaniard did make amends by leading the Gunners on a superb 22 game unbeaten streak in all competitions, including 10 wins on the spin, from August through to December.
Emery may have suffered defeat in his first two games at Arsenal but he stormed back in style, meaning he had an 80% win rate after 10 matches at the helm.
Maurizio Sarri (Chelsea)
Opening 10 Games
- Wins: 7
- Draws: 2
- Defeats: 1
- Win Rate: 70%
Like Emery, Maurizio Sarri arrived in England in the summer and lost his first game, as Chelsea sunk to 2-0 defeat to Man City in the Community Shield. Sarri then started to work his magic and proceeded to go 18 league and cup games unbeaten.
Sarri’s 12 game undefeated start in the Premier League set a new record as he became the first manager to avoid defeat in his opening dozen games in the competition. Although the Blues have since lost five of their subsequent 13 top-flight matches as Solskjaer’s rejuvenated United have closed the gap to just two points in the fight for fourth.
