Having been held to a goalless Premier League draw by Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, the Reds could reflect on a frustrating end to a two-month, 19-game period. Of their last five league fixtures in that spell, a solitary victory meant that third-placed Leicester City sat 13 points in the distance.
But, while left to lament a missed opportunity to pick up maximum points ahead of our first-ever winter break in the Premier League, Solskjaer was nevertheless able to cast an eye towards the future after an influential display by his debutant: Bruno Fernandes.
Without overstatement or hyperbole, the Norwegian merely assured all parties:
“You can see he’s a top player.