Old Trafford, once again, felt like a contented place. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was wearing a sunrise of a smile. There was even an embrace from Fred the Red, Manchester United’s devil-horned mascot, before the team continued their immaculate start on Solskjær’s watch, and it is probably for the better that the current manager is nothing like as boastful as the previous one. If Solksjær were a different personality he might have pointed out he had taken as many points in five days as José Mourinho managed during his last 45 in the job.

Solskjær is certainly entitled to feel pleased with himself after two second-half goals from a renascent Paul Pogba, to add to the one scored by Nemanja Matic in the opening period, gave United’s supporters the chance to go through their old songbook to pay homage to the man who has taken on the caretaker manager’s role for the rest of the season.

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The volume felt like it had been turned up a few notches since those difficult periods under Mourinho when visiting Old Trafford was such a strangely flat, often joyless, experience. Pogba, in particular, seems to be relishing the change of management. His goals were splendidly taken – a reminder why the club were more concerned about losing him, rather than Mourinho, in the power struggle between player and manager – and when he skimmed in a 25-yard shot to make it 3-0 all that was missing from his Cantona-esque goal celebration was the upturned collar.

Play Video 0:57 'It makes you proud': Solskjær reacts after winning start at Manchester United – video

Solskjær has placed greater emphasis on width and penetration, with the full-backs Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw encouraged to “fly on”, but it is the change in Pogba’s demeanour that is most striking. “That’s the Paul I’ve known since he was in the reserves and youth team,” Solskjær said. “He has always been a happy boy, he has always had a big smile on his face and when you score a goal, or two, of course you are happy. When you play football for Man United you should be happy. Of course it’s a responsibility, but it’s also an honour and a privilege. Paul loves playing for this club. He’s a Man United boy through and through, a kid who knows what it means to play for Man United.”

At the same time it would be an exaggeration to say Solskjær has entirely transformed a team that is still 19 points off the top of the Premier League table. Not just yet, anyway. Huddersfield may not have won at Old Trafford since 1930 but a side mired in relegation danger had been difficult opponents for the opening hour. David Wagner’s team chased everything, frequently looked bright in possession and it was not until Pogba slotted in the second goal, after 64 minutes, that the home crowd could relax.

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Three minutes earlier it had needed a brilliant piece of goalkeeping from David de Gea to prevent Laurent Depoitre equalising from a corner and that clawing, one-handed save was arguably the key moment of the afternoon. De Gea showed in that moment why Solskjær had awarded him the captaincy – “the defining moment, one of the best saves I’ve seen” Solskjær eulogised. But Huddersfield did eventually get a goal for their troubles, courtesy of Mathias Jørgensen’s 88th-minute header. It was only Huddersfield’s 12th league goal all season and they have now lost their last six games.

Their problems are typified by Jørgensen, a centre-half, now being their leading scorer with three goals and the Premier League’s bottom club will think back to a golden chance for Terence Kongolo, 10 minutes in, to open the scoring. His close-range shot went into the crowd and, at this level, Huddersfield were always likely to pay for that kind of wastefulness. “We were not clinical enough and we have not made use of our chances,” Wagner said. “Performance-wise we did not look like a side that is bottom of the league. Everybody knows what our problem is and this is that we are not clinical enough.”

Sure enough United took the lead in the 28th minute after Pogba’s free-kick had been deflected behind for a corner. Marcus Rashford’s delivery was whipped over from the left. Victor Lindelöf was the first to attack the cross and, though Christopher Schindler blocked the initial effort on the goalline, the ball fell conveniently for Matic to apply the final touch.

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United’s second goal was the culmination of an incisive move along the right involving the lively Rashford, Juan Mata and the substitute Ander Herrera and concluding with a crisp finish from Pogba to beat Jonas Lössl from 12 yards.

Huddersfield kept pressing but Pogba’s next goal was even better and United could be satisfied overall even if Jørgensen’s header, from a free-kick, left Solskjær staring back, arms folded.

“It was a great day that I’ll never forget” said the Norwegian. “Walking out, hearing the crowd singing my song – it was humbling and made me really proud.”