Man Utd player ratings and analysis vs PSG: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's at the wheel for good after Paris comeback

So this was the night Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confirmed Manchester United manager.

And to do it in a manner befitting his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson was almost too good to be true.

But that's what this remarkable, infectiously positive man can do.

Co-owner Avram Glazer will fly back to Florida with tales of a club transformed by the man who delivered them their greatest moment when he was a player.

Real Madrid are free to try to prise Mauricio Pochettino away from Tottenham – United have found their ideal candidate to lead them back to summit of European football. And after an absolute thrill ride in Paris that simply beggared, who would bet against him doing it before his caretaker reign is even up?

With Ole at the wheel, anything seems possible.

To put this 3-1 win into perspective, it must be remembered the circumstances in which United headed into this Champions League round of 16 second leg against Paris Saint Germain.

In Pictures | Man Utd celebrate comeback win against PSG | 06/03/19

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Solskjaer was already faced with the prospect of having to become the first team to overturn a 2-0 home defeat in this competition.

If he was to do it, he'd have to do so without 10 first team players.

Included in his travelling squad were five academy starlets – one, Mason Greenwood, who only turned 17 in October.

By the end of the match, United had four home-grown talents on the pitch – two of them teenagers.

Marcus Rashford, with nerves of steel, struck the decisive goal – a last minute penalty with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Action Images via Reuters

An Englishman from 12 yards – we've heard this story before. But the 21-year-old is one of those players so dramatically rejuvenated by Solskjaer's uplifting brand of management.

So too Romelu Lukaku – that flat track bully who struck twice against one of the favourites to lift this trophy to set up the most improbable of wins.

But this win was Solskjaer all over.

That's now 14 from his 17 games in charge – his only defeat coming in the first leg to PSG, which he so dramatically expunged in front of the French champions' stunned fans.

United's, meanwhile, were singing long after the rest of the stadium had emptied – refusing to be drowned out by the Paris down pour.

When Ed Woodward made his SOS to Solskjaer, he could never have dreamed of it becoming his masterstroke as executive vice chairman.

He has the unwavering support of the Glazers due to his genius methods in maximising United's commercial potential. But even the American businessmen cannot fail to have been caught up in the romance of Solskjaer's triumphant return to Old Trafford.

Avram's presence in Paris is evidence enough of that.

He has been a rare attendee of United games, but has now watched four in less than two months of Solskjaer's reign.

In Pictures | PSG vs Man Utd | 06/03/2019

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The man brought in to put a smile on the face of players and fans, while Woodward went about the business of luring Pochettino away from Spurs, has certainly lived up to his end of the bargain.

You would be hard pressed to find a single United fan who would swap the Norwegian for anyone right.

Woodward cannot fail to ignore that.

Solskjaer has passed every test put before him and more.

The job is his – all that's left is to announce it.

Player ratings  

How did Man Utd fare vs PSG?  


De Gea: 7

Bailly: 3

Smalling: 9

Lindelof: 9

Young: 8

McTominay: 9

Pereira: 5

Fred: 7

Shaw: 7

Lukaku: 9

Rashford: 8

 

Subs

Dalot: 6

Chong: 5

Solskjaer's lucky break

If you can't be good, be lucky.

Or in this case, if you can't be bad.

If Solskjaer had one significant slice of luck in Paris it came when Eric Bailly went down after half and hour.

Action Images via Reuters

The Ivorian had endured a miserable 30 minutes out of position at right back – and was the weak link PSG were determined to exploit.

He was ball-watching when Juan Bernat equalised and was helpless to stop the tide of attacks down his side.

Solskjaer needed to make an unpopular decision and hook him early on.

But remarkably there was little movement from the bench, despite a natural right back in Diogo Dalot sitting among the substitutes.

Only when Bailly went down did Solskjaer act – and not before time.

McTominay shows heart

Scott McTominay is still to convince everyone that he's truly United class – but no one can doubt his heart.

Action Images via Reuters

On the biggest night of the 22-year-old's life, he rose to the occasion in the Parc des Princes.

A severely depleted United midfield was always going to find it difficult to get a hold of the ball against PSG's all stars. It was going to be about grit, graft and desire.

McTominay is blessed with those qualities in abundance - and his tireless energy was crucial to snapping at the heels of PSG's players and disrupting their flow.

By the end of the night Marquinhos was sick of the sight of the pink shirt with No39 on the back of it.

United fans, however, may want to see a whole lot more of it after this.

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