Manchester United 3-1 Huddersfield: 6 Men who were brilliant for Solskjaer in the Boxing Day fixture

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer walked onto the Old Trafford ground on Wednesday in front of a full house, he was welcomed with thunderous cheers from all around the stadium. The Norwegian waves to the fans, looking at ease and was perhaps a little embarrassed with all the attention that he was getting.

However, he knew that the burdens of expectations on his shoulders had increased a lot since the Red Devils scored five over the weekend and also that anything other than a win would be a bad result. Once the game started, it was clear that what he wanted was what the whole of Old Trafford desired - attack, attack, attack.

Manchester United spent the majority of the 90 minutes in the opposition half, registering 16 shots, 10 of those were on target. They had 65% possession and attempted 634 passes with 83% passing completion rate.

United created quite a few chances and should have scored at least two more goals. However, the attacking play and the beautiful football would have pleased Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just as much as it had delighted millions of the Manchester United fans all over the world.

Manchester United won all three points in Solskjaer's first home game in-charge and these six players were massive for their Norwegian Manager at Old Trafford.

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#6 David de Gea

De Gea made one of the best saves of the Premier League during the Huddersfield match

Even though he could not secure a clean sheet, David de Gea pulled off an impossible save with the game still at a tender 1-0 scoreline. Named the captain for the night, the Spaniard had very little to do in the entire first half, as Manchester United kept Huddersfield at bay. At the start of the second half, Huddersfield piled on the pressure and had a real go at United, who had lost a bit of momentum and looked vulnerable.

In one such move in the 62nd minute, Depoitre broke away from his marker and shot at De Gea's right-hand post. The ball looked destined for the far corner, as the Spaniard appeared blindsided. However, the Spanish keeper reminded us why he is so highly rated by everyone in the world.

After not having to make a save throughout the entire first half, the Spaniard still looked sharp and made fabulous diving save, also managing to ensure that the rebound did not fall to a Huddersfield player. It was the moment of magic that makes him the best in the world and it was the moment that kept United in the game at the crucial stage. Within 2 minutes from the save, Pogba had scored and calmed the nerves.

De Gea is perhaps the only player who has been consistently good ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Solskjaer will be delighted with the Spaniard even though he could not keep out Jorgensen's late goal.

#5 Victor Lindelof

Lindelof looked assured throughout the game

The Swedish International is beginning to show just why Manchester United and Mourinho had brought him to Old Trafford. Lindelof was stellar in defence for the second game running and justified his manager's faith to continue with him at the back.

While United had been pegged with defensive troubles, Solskjaer kept his faith in his centre-backs and trusted them to adjust to his offensive tactics. His players, especially, Lindelof, reacted brilliantly and even though Huddersfield tried their best to cause problems, United had answers to most of their attempts.

The defender rose tall, almost always winning the 50-50s and rarely put a foot wrong in the entire game. His comfort on the ball was evident as he regularly stepped up from the defence to help his midfielders out and also ventured forward to increase the numbers in attack.

Lindelof's positioning, tactical awareness, and speed meant that Dalot could stay further up on the pitch. Lindelof did not just impress in the defence, he looked dangerous at the set pieces as well. It was his glancing header from a corner that found Matic who broke the deadlock in the first half.

Victor Lindelof was massive against Huddersfield and while he could not stop United from conceding, he would have given his manager a world of confidence.

#4 Marcus Rashford

Rashford was menacing even though he failed to find the back of the net

Solskjaer had to start his managerial career at Old Trafford without his number 9 as Romelu Lukaku was on compassionate leave. Against Huddersfield at Old Trafford, Solskjaer was dealt with another blow - Martial was absent as well. Without Martial and Lukaku in the squad, the responsibilities of leading the line fell to young Marcus Rashford and the youngster looked ready for the occasion.

Even though he did not score, Rashford looked menacing whenever he found the ball. He tormented the Huddersfield defence through the left and the right and showed skills and confidence that had Old Trafford gushing. He brilliantly set up Dalot after beating his marker from the left, however, the Portuguese fullback failed to find the back of the net.

Rashford was busy throughout the game and did get a few chances to score, however, it was not supposed to be his night. Solskjaer would still be impressed though, Rashford looked inspired and worked well with the team. His speed and trickery was deadly in the counter and even though he could not add to his tally on the night, Rashford was instrumental in United earning the three points

#3 Nemanja Matic

Matic is slowly gaining his form back for the Red Devils

Most often the silent architect of the team, Nemanja Matic has hogged the limelight for different reasons this time. The Serbian has been in poor form for Manchester United ever since the start of the season and has been at fault for quite a few times in games. It seemed that he was tired and had been caught off the pace by the younger and faster players in the opposition. There were even calls for him to be relegated to the bench permanently.

A man who shared a special relationship with Mourinho, Matic could have feared for his place in the team after the arrival of Solskjaer. However, his new boss understood his pedigree and trusted the Serbian to turn his season around soon. Against Cardiff, Matic had been decent, but at Old Trafford on Wednesday, the Serbian had his best game of the season.

Matic was strong while covering and nifty when with the ball. For a majority of the first half, he did the cleaning job, juggling Fred's forward runs and adjusting his positions to nullify the counter-attacks. In between that, he scored the all-important opening goal and eased the tension around Old Trafford.

Herrera's arrival in the second half released all the pressure and Matic stamped his authority in the game. His passing was immaculate, and his distribution reminded everyone of the player that had taken the Premier League by storm couple of years ago. Against Huddersfield, Nemanja Matic returned from the dead and Solskjaer should be very pleased.

#2 Juan Mata

Mata did what Mata generally does

Keeping him out of the team against Cardiff must have been a tough decision for Solskjaer, but when the opportunity presented itself, Solskjaer immediately put the Spaniard back into his team. The Norwegian seemed to understand Mata's abilities well because contrary to how he had been used until now, the Spaniard was given a free role and it worked wonders.

Mata started on the right and did spend a little time there, but it was clear that he had the freedom that he deserved. He popped up in the middle, on the right and even took passes from the deep.

Mata was aware of the speed of the players around him and used that to great effect. He regularly tried to find the runs of Rashford and Lingard but was also lethal during the counter-attacks. He also combined well with Rashford on quite a few occasions and it was from one of those that United scored a beautiful goal to take away the game from the opposition.

He was replaced by young Angel Gomes in the 81st minute, but by then, Juan Mata had done enough to see Manchester United through.

#1 Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba once again proved the world why he is regarded as on one of the best midfielders

Solskjaer had expressed his desire to build his team around Paul Pogba, a player whose abilities he had seen first hand as the reserves coach at Old Trafford years ago. As such the Norwegian had reinstated Pogba into his team immediately. Against Cardiff, Pogba repaid the trust put on him, but on Wednesday, he showed the world just how good he could be.

Pogba started with Matic and Fred in the midfield, but as was the case in the weekend, enjoyed a role with a great deal of freedom. He showed great maturity and responsibility though, tracking back, winning the ball, using his upper body strength and close control to win the midfield battle, but it was gradually clear that with the ball in front of the box, Paul Pogba is an asset of the highest quality.

His movement, his skills and his ability to read the game are second to none and Paul Pogba was outstanding against Huddersfield. He was the heartbeat of the team and was back among the goals too. His first was a great finish to a brilliant build-up play, however, it was his second that stole the show.

Pogba unleashed a venomous volley from over 20 yards out that curled just out of reach of Lossl in the Huddersfield goal. It was the goal of the game; Paul Pogba had unleashed a Man of the Match performance and won United all the three points.