Manchester United finally cut ties with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in late November of last year after a particularly disastrous run of results.

The nail in the coffin proved to be that fateful afternoon at Vicarage Road where a Solskjaer-led United were beaten convincingly by Watford who put four past David de Gea.

After a brief stint of three fames with fellow former United player Michael Carrick at the helm on an interim basis, the Old Trafford hierarchy opted to replace one interim with another in the form of ex- RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick.

The German arrived with huge anticipation and stories of how he has influenced the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel sparked excitement among the United faithful.

However, things have hardly panned out the way the club hierarchy would have expected with United's general standard of performance hardly improving under Rangnick, even if the results have.

Mirror Football has compared Rangnick's first eight games to Solskjaer's last and determined if there has been much of a difference.

Rangnick's first eight

Crystal Palace (home)

Ralf Rangnick got off to a winning start as Man Utd interim boss at home to Crystal Palace (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

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Rangnick's first game in charge, United fans were optimistic over the newfound energy on display that inspired a 1-0 win over the Eagles at Old Trafford courtesy of a Fred strike late on in the second half.

BSC Young Boys (Champions League, home)

The first points dropped with Rangnick at the helm came at the hands of Swiss outfit Young Boys in the final game of the Champions League group stages as he deployed a number of young players making their first appearance in a United shirt as the game eventually finished 1-1.

Norwich City (away)

The first time many United fans expressed their concerns over the lack of improvement came at Carrow Road as United just about held on after Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half penalty despite a late attacking onslaught from the Canaries.

Newcastle United (away)

Cristiano Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure during United's draw at Newcastle

The first dropped points in the Premier League under Rangnick were during the dismal 1-1 draw at St James' Park that saw United cling on for dear life at times as the likes of Joelinton and Miguel Almiron caused huge problems.

Burnley (home)

United briefly halted the rut at home against Burnley with a comfortable 3-1 victory that saw all three Red Devils goals come inside the opening 35 minutes to put the game beyond any doubt early on.

Wolves (home)

Undoubtedly the worst clash of Rangnick's tenure so far as United succumbed to Wolves at home for the first time in the league for four decades thanks to Joao Moutinho's late effort.

Aston Villa (FA Cup, home)

The first of two meetings against Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa came in the third round of the FA Cup where a Scott McTominay header was enough to ensure United's progression into the fourth round in what was Rangnick's first taste of English cup football.

Aston Villa (away)

Philippe Coutinho ensured United came away from Villa Park feeling like they had dropped two points (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

A trip to Villa Park in the Premier League proved less successful as United surrendered a two-goal cushion to draw 2-2 with former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho netting the equaliser for the hosts.

Solskjaer's final eight saw United pick up just four points from a possible 18 in the Premier League in a run that started with a feeble showing at home to Everton.

Solskjaer's last eight

Everton (home)

Solskjaer dropped superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for the visit of the Toffees and immediately paid the price as Andros Townsend ensured Rafael Benitez' side came away from Old Trafford with a point.

Leicester City (away)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United fell to a 4-2 defeat at the King Power

Mason Greenwood's wonder strike was not enough to prevent United form falling to a disastrous 4-2 defeat that saw them concede the third less than two minutes after Marcus Rashford's equaliser.

Atalanta (Champions League, home)

An inspired second-half display ensured United overturned a two-goal deficit with Solskjaer having Ronaldo to thank for his last-gasp winner.

Liverpool (home)

Arguably the worst United performance in their Premier League history as their most fierce rivals ran riot on their own patch to win 5-0 with a Mohamed Salah hat-trick adding further insult to injury.

Tottenham Hotspur (away)

Ronaldo bagged the first of United's three in Solskjaer's final Premier League win

In the battle of the struggling manager's, Solskjaer met Nuno Espirito Santo in north London to record his final Premier League win as United boss in comfortable fashion as the Red Devils ran out 3-0 victors.

Atalanta (Champions League, away)

United were forced to come from behind twice in the Norwegian's final Champions League game but yet another Ronaldo last-gasp goal spared Red Devils blushes.

Manchester City (home)

United endured a 'death by a thousand passes' style defeat when Pep Guardiola's men made the short trip across Manchester to register a 2-0 victory that bore witness to some shambolic defending from both Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.

Watford (away)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked on November 21 by Man Utd after the defeat by Watford

The game that saw Solskjaer's reign come to the most humiliating end as newly-promoted Watford battered United 4-1, forcing the Norwegian to issue a grovelling apology to the travelling fans come the full-time whistle.

Overall, the contrast in points on the board is fairly stark as Rangnick has tasted defeat just once during his first eight games in the United hot-seat.

Solskjaer, meanwhile, lost four of his last eight games across all competitions and drew two others.

While United have hardly been restored to their former glories under Rangnick, there are signs of progress under the man dubbed the 'godfather of the gegenpress'.

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