a new intent is sign of progress
then he will find it in the loss just before half-time of two forward players, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial.
They had been front and central of a high press that terrified PSG at times during the opening period. Once they had gone — replaced by Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata — so had a vital part of Solskjaer’s pre-game plan.
That kind of tactic can only work if every player buys in to it, of course, and Solskjaer had picked a team for the job.
This was a United outfit with youth on its side and the way that players like Marcus Rashford and Lingard closed down their opponents deep in the PSG half suited the home team in the early stages.
PSG, we know, are used to getting things pretty much their own way in Ligue 1. The French champions have only dropped seven points from a possible 66 in their domestic league and are usually given all the time they wish to play their football.
Here, they could not escape the red shadows early on. Twice in the opening 10 minutes, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigui Buffon passed the ball straight out of play, once on either side of the field.
The 40-year-old was nominally seeking a team-mate but in truth his clearances were hurried, made so by the presence of opposition players in his immediate field of vision.
There were bookings for PSG, too. Central defender Presnel Kimpembe could have been cautioned twice, and that would have meant a sending off. He was to score the first goal. Julian Draxler also walked a tightrope after an early caution.
None of that was intentional. It all came about because PSG were being asked to play under pressure, to move the ball quicker than they wished to. United were dictating the way that the game was being played and too often in recent years we have not been able to say that.
For United and their freshly expectant supporters it was not to last. It is worth noting that for all United’s good play in the first half, they did not create a chance. When PSG gained the ascendency, on the other hand, they scored once and then scored again.
To progress in Paris looks too hard a task from here and for United this will serve as a reality check. But for a while United traded blows with a good European side. They played with ambition and intent and maybe that cost them in the end.
But at least they were in the game with meaning. It has been a while.