As soon as he had finished exchanging pleasantries with Pep Guardiola and the match officials after the final whistle, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wasted no time in making his way over to the foot of the South stand, where about 3,000 Manchester United fans were singing his name.

There he stood, clapping and saluting the supporters while pointing proudly to the United crest on his coat. The episode lasted for a good couple of minutes. Solskjaer wanted to drink in the adulation and few could blame him. After all, he had just enjoyed arguably his best week in management. Many had written him off after the insipid 2-2 draw against Aston Villa six days earlier, but somehow Solskjaer lifted himself off the canvas to knock out