While Manchester United's victory was certainly well received, it will not mask wider issues.

'Green and gold' protests against the ownership took place before kick-off and during a first-half when the home side were abysmal.

Chants against the Glazer family, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and director of football Jason Wilcox will not stop just because of this victory, no matter how thrilling.

The sober assessment should also recall United came from behind to beat Atalanta 3-2 at Old Trafford during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's time. They lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool four days later. Within a month, the Norwegian had been sacked.

In October 2018, Jose Mourinho was on the brink of dismissal before a Premier League encounter with Newcastle. United trailed 2-0 after 10 minutes but fought back to win. Mourinho lasted 13 more games.

No-one can know how much time Michael Carrick has bought himself with this victory.

"I don't have a crystal ball to know what happens next," he told Amazon Prime. "We move on to the weekend. We've got a really important game here against Aston Villa, which we need to prepare for."

Chief executive Omar Berrada and Wilcox certainly looked much happier at the final whistle than they had done midway through the first half.

Suddenly United look like they can qualify for the next phase of the Champions League. For the first time since September, Carrick's players are enjoying the winning feeling.

But it will mean little unless they can maintain the momentum against Aston Villa, who were getting beaten heavily by Barcelona as Old Trafford was in tumult.