Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Besiktas beat Fenerbahce to damage Jose Mourinho's side's hopes of winning the title and in doing so, has earned plaudits for prevailing in the battle of the former Manchester United managers.
The Norwegian coach has made a superb start to life as Besiktas manager, and his latest feat saw him steer his men to a 1-0 win away to Mourinho's side. Gedson Fernandes netted the game's only goal to make it seven wins in 13 Turkish Super Lig games for Solskjaer.
The 52-year-old replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst in January with a point to prove amid taking on his first managerial job since United sacked him in November 2021. Besiktas were languishing in sixth place when he arrived, but they are now fourth, three points behind third-placed Samsunspor and with a game in hand.
Besiktas' win over Fenerbahce followed a 2-1 victory against Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray in March, meaning he's overseen two derby wins since taking charge. His side has won seven of 13 league games under his tutelage.
Even more impressive about the victory over Galatasaray was that it handed the title favourites their first defeat of the league campaign.
Solskjaer's feats in Turkiye are making many perform a U-turn over their verdicts on his coaching credentials despite a disappointing end to his United spell. His instant impact at Besiktas hasn't gone unnoticed across the football world, with one fan calling him an 'elite manager':
"The work Ole Gunnar Solskjær is doing btw. Wow. Took over Besiktas in January and already: - Beaten Fenerbache. - Beaten Galatasaray and stopped them from going invincible... Elite manager."
Andy Mitten of United We Stand magazine called the result against Fenerbahce "incredible" while pointing out how Solskjaer's beaten Turkiye's two biggest giants.
He's earning rave reviews in Turkiye also, and a Besiktas fan account relayed comments from Mourinho and Solskjaer:
"(On) 10 December 2024, after yet another defeat to Besiktas, Jose Mourinho had this to say: “If we played Besiktas 10 times, we’d win 8. They’d win 1, and 1 would be a draw." Today: Besiktas beat Fenerbahce 1-0 away from home. Solskjaer’s response: Well then, looks like they’ll be winning the next 8."
Jose 0-1 Ole
posted on 6/5/25
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 7 hours, 25 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 4 minutes ago
It's good to see OGS doing well. As is the case with all big results, there can be an over-reaction, but no doubt in the short-term he has turned things around at the club.
In many ways, that was similar to what he did here, so the question is can he maintain that and learn from his mistakes at Utd?
It could be that he has found a club which just suits everything he does at a level which isn't the same pressure as managing Utd.(similar to McT moving to Napoli?)
And more importantly, he has learnt from his time at Utd and putting it to good use.
Need to see how he does over next couple of seasons, and who knows, it may lead to a chance at a bigger club again.
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Why is the pressure of McTominay competing for the Serie A title less than competing down the bottom of the PL?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have to ask that…
posted on 6/5/25
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 7 hours, 25 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 4 minutes ago
It's good to see OGS doing well. As is the case with all big results, there can be an over-reaction, but no doubt in the short-term he has turned things around at the club.
In many ways, that was similar to what he did here, so the question is can he maintain that and learn from his mistakes at Utd?
It could be that he has found a club which just suits everything he does at a level which isn't the same pressure as managing Utd.(similar to McT moving to Napoli?)
And more importantly, he has learnt from his time at Utd and putting it to good use.
Need to see how he does over next couple of seasons, and who knows, it may lead to a chance at a bigger club again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is the pressure of McTominay competing for the Serie A title less than competing down the bottom of the PL?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have to ask that…
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Whut is the anser?
posted on 6/5/25
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 10 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 7 hours, 25 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 4 minutes ago
It's good to see OGS doing well. As is the case with all big results, there can be an over-reaction, but no doubt in the short-term he has turned things around at the club.
In many ways, that was similar to what he did here, so the question is can he maintain that and learn from his mistakes at Utd?
It could be that he has found a club which just suits everything he does at a level which isn't the same pressure as managing Utd.(similar to McT moving to Napoli?)
And more importantly, he has learnt from his time at Utd and putting it to good use.
Need to see how he does over next couple of seasons, and who knows, it may lead to a chance at a bigger club again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is the pressure of McTominay competing for the Serie A title less than competing down the bottom of the PL?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have to ask that…
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well it was a rhetorical question to highlight how stupid the opinion is that it’s more pressure competing down the bottom end of the table than chasing a title. I was expecting the person who asked it to think about it and see sense but he doubled down instead and now you’re here defending that crazy position.
posted on 6/5/25
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 34 minutes ago
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 10 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 7 hours, 25 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 4 minutes ago
It's good to see OGS doing well. As is the case with all big results, there can be an over-reaction, but no doubt in the short-term he has turned things around at the club.
In many ways, that was similar to what he did here, so the question is can he maintain that and learn from his mistakes at Utd?
It could be that he has found a club which just suits everything he does at a level which isn't the same pressure as managing Utd.(similar to McT moving to Napoli?)
And more importantly, he has learnt from his time at Utd and putting it to good use.
Need to see how he does over next couple of seasons, and who knows, it may lead to a chance at a bigger club again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is the pressure of McTominay competing for the Serie A title less than competing down the bottom of the PL?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have to ask that…
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well it was a rhetorical question to highlight how stupid the opinion is that it’s more pressure competing down the bottom end of the table than chasing a title. I was expecting the person who asked it to think about it and see sense but he doubled down instead and now you’re here defending that crazy position.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe you are the one that needs to see sense. this has nothing to do with where you are in the league. This is about the club you play for anbd if you can't recognise that there is greater pressure playing for certain clubs than others, then maybe you need to think about what youare saying.
And I would say there is probably more pressure for an actual team trying to avoid relegation (which Utd are not) at the bottom of the table than chasing a title.
The fact that we have differing opinions (as do others on both sides) does not make one stupid, but your attitude maybe does
posted on 6/5/25
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 47 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 34 minutes ago
comment by The Process (U20671)
posted 10 minutes ago
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 7 hours, 25 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 4 minutes ago
It's good to see OGS doing well. As is the case with all big results, there can be an over-reaction, but no doubt in the short-term he has turned things around at the club.
In many ways, that was similar to what he did here, so the question is can he maintain that and learn from his mistakes at Utd?
It could be that he has found a club which just suits everything he does at a level which isn't the same pressure as managing Utd.(similar to McT moving to Napoli?)
And more importantly, he has learnt from his time at Utd and putting it to good use.
Need to see how he does over next couple of seasons, and who knows, it may lead to a chance at a bigger club again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is the pressure of McTominay competing for the Serie A title less than competing down the bottom of the PL?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have to ask that…
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well it was a rhetorical question to highlight how stupid the opinion is that it’s more pressure competing down the bottom end of the table than chasing a title. I was expecting the person who asked it to think about it and see sense but he doubled down instead and now you’re here defending that crazy position.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe you are the one that needs to see sense. this has nothing to do with where you are in the league. This is about the club you play for anbd if you can't recognise that there is greater pressure playing for certain clubs than others, then maybe you need to think about what youare saying.
And I would say there is probably more pressure for an actual team trying to avoid relegation (which Utd are not) at the bottom of the table than chasing a title.
The fact that we have differing opinions (as do others on both sides) does not make one stupid, but your attitude maybe does
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It has everything to do with it. Competing for the league where not winning one single game, during the run in, one mistake can cost you the title is much more pressure than being down the bottom of the table where the result has not much meaning.
posted on 6/5/25
Olesexuals rule..
posted on 6/5/25
Imagine TOOR trolling and then realising all he’s done is highlight that Ole finished above Klopp in the table.
Imagine that.
posted on 6/5/25
It has everything to do with it. Competing for the league where not winning one single game, during the run in, one mistake can cost you the title is much more pressure than being down the bottom of the table where the result has not much meaning.
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Which season was McTominay down near the bottom of the table with United?
posted on 7/5/25
comment by TheresOnlyOne7-0Reds (U1721)
posted 17 hours, 50 minutes ago
Has his start really been that good?
Dumped out of the cup by Goztepe.
Is it 25 points from 42 in the league for a team expected to be competing at the top?
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Considering where they were and heading when he took over, and the state of the club, yes. The only thing that wasn't under his control was thr decision of the owners to start paying their staff and players on time.
posted on 7/5/25
Beating Jose isn't anything special anymore. He is done at the very top level and has been for some time. Surprising how average he's actually become since the days of him being an elite manager, who was arguably the best around. Old Mourinho might have taken that league by storm. This version is going out of the cups early and struggling to keep up with the leaders.
One trophy in his last 7-8 seasons at clubs and that was a Mickey Mouse competition UEFA invented out of thin air in the last 5 for teams not good enough for Europa.