Little by little, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is restoring Manchester United’s regal swagger

Should this Manchester United team ever come to express the full measure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s belief in them, then games against Europe’s best, like this victory over PSG on Wednesday night, will not be smash and grab raids but regal campaigns.

This was a night as good as any but perhaps not delivered in the manner to which United were born. United have been good at being United in the Premier League, less so in the Champions League. Incredibly Solskjaer whipped enough of the spirit of Ajax from Madrid into his team to fashion one of the great results in United’s history.

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After scoring inside two minutes it took United half an hour to yank themselves out of their inferiority complex. Until Lukaku nicked his second courtesy of Gianluigi Buffon’s error from Marcus Rashford’s speculative shot United were PSG’s biggest fans, convincing themselves their only hope was to huddle together until the storm blew out.

Blessing in disguise

This is the real damage done to the club in the post-Fergie years, the gradual erosion of the regal swagger that was once their calling card when Solskjaer was a player. The appointment of Jose Mourinho was in part an attempt to fast track some world class substance into the house. None could know then how little of that quality he retained.

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Any game is easy when played without pressure. PSG had a free pass, swanning about the Parc de Princes at training ground intensity, fed by 73 per cent possession. The equaliser was foretold by the speed at which United retreated into a pink shell, as if a second goal too early might provoke an onslaught.

The mood turned, as it often does, by accident with the withdrawal of Eric Bailly through injury. Whatever Bailly is he is not a full-back. Rinsed repeatedly down United’s right by a combination of Angel di Maria and goalscorer Juan Bernat, Bailly contributed the sense of alarm across the back line. It was a blessing when Marco Verratti crunched his ankle to usher into the piece Diogo Dalot.

Youthful tradition

Mourinho was right about one thing, Dalot is a star-in-waiting. Mourinho saw him as a full-back. The injury crisis engulfing the club has forced Solskjaer to play him higher up the pitch. Immediately he gave the team defensive shape and thrust down the right. As a consequence United looked a different team.

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As well as the victory Solskjaer left Paris with important gains. Fred had a blinder reprising his combative ebullience at Shakhtar Donetsk. Lukaku again looked a handful taking his tally to six goals in three games and with four minutes to go 17-year-old Mason Greenwood made his United debut.

There could not have been a more symbolic move by Solskjaer, honouring the great United tradition of youthful endeavour in European competition. And then Rashford doubled the dose by ramming home the winning penalty.

As Solskjaer said at full-time: “It’s this club, it’s what we do. That’s Man United.”