Michael Carrick enjoyed one of his finest nights as a Manchester United player in the Champions League against Roma, scoring twice in a 7-1 win in the quarter-final, second leg in 2007. The re-run here was all about his managerial survival at the club.

The situation looked impossibly grim for him at half-time. Amid an atmosphere of continued fan anger towards the United ownership, Carrick’s team had been implausibly bad. Roma took a 2-0 lead into the break and the truth was that the scoreline greatly flattered United.

What happened next was a fightback for the ages. For Carrick, it might even have topped 2007. United’s defending had been so loose, so generous. But they finally showed the other side to their game – the one about attacking punch; derring-do. They found a solution to their woes at the back.…