“Mountains are there to be climbed,” Solskjaer said after Manchester United’s home 0-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League first leg of the round of 16 clash in February. 

“You can't lay down and say it's over. There is a determination in the dressing room to put this right.

"We will give it a go. If we get to half-time with a one-goal lead, that is what we have to aim for."

Off course it was something he had to say but Solskjaer really believed it and it happened. 

A defensive mistake by Paris Saint-Germain, Romelu Lukaku pounced, went past Gianluigi Buffon and scored just after two minutes in the second leg in Paris on Wednesday night. Paris Saint-Germain levelled but Lukaku scored again after a Buffon howler. 

Paris Saint-Germain had most of the ball in the second half, they probed and probed without really stretching the United defence. VAR-assisted penalty, Marcus Rashford with a composure of a veteran, blasted past Buffon for United’s shocking win.

Indeed, they never gave up, thanks for Solskjaer who himself completed the biggest miracle in Manchester United history with the winning goal in the 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final. 

Everyone is talking about the lucky charm he seems to have brought with him back to Manchester United, this time as a coach. Even Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel had discussed the ‘Solskjaer factor’ before the game but he had this smirk of someone who was speaking in platitudes of an unlikely upset.

The comeback did happen. 

‘Miracle in Paris!’ Daily Mail screamed on the main story of their sports category. 

‘UNBELIEVABLE,’ Manchester United Twitter handle wrote after 90 minutes. 

“Unbelievable!! We never give up!” Manchester United defender Chris Smalling also wrote on Twitter. 

This was more than a lucky charm, this was fortune bred out of the toughness and plasticity he has given this Manchester United squad. 

United unquestionably rode their luck with the two defensive errors from the Paris Saint-Germain defence and the flailing arm of Presnel Kimpembe that gave Manchester United the last-minute penalty. But luck doesn’t give you that Lukaku sharpness to pounce on those defensive mistakes, neither would luck have given Rashford the composure and precision to score the last-minute penalty with a lot at stake. At the age of 21, that was icy and ruthless from the youngster. 

Rashford is gradually becoming that player, boyish and mellow in looks but a steely and relentless player who is never fazed by the occasion or opponent. A leaf out of Solskjaer's book. 

Solskjaer was labelled the ‘The Baby-faced Assassin- during his playing days because of his uncanny knack of bailing United out of trouble. Just like it happened at the Camp Nou in 1999, the Norwegian for most of his Manchester United career played the super-sub role. Coming on to stir Manchester United to comebacks that characterised the club under the great Alex Ferguson. 

It was the mentality that drove United to the treble that season and the successes of the Ferguson era. 

“It’s just the spirit of Man United, we've been part of nights like this, haven't we,” The Manchester United coach asked his former teammate Gary Neville in a post-match interview on Wednesday night. 

The lift under Solskjaer has not been due to some specific tactical manoeuvrings-if there is any, much attention has not been paid to it. 

Unlike Jose Mourinho, he has regularly fielded the fan favourites in their strongest positions and given them much-needed freedom which has brought the buoyancy and defensive solidity Manchester United have been playing with. 14 wins in 17 games and just one loss. Wins away at Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and the stunning comeback in Paris. 

This is more than a lucky charm, this is more than just a bounce riding on the novelty of a new manager. The new Manchester United-with Lukaku’s insane form, the effectiveness of Rashford, the solidity of Victor Lindelöf and the new-found confidence of Luke Shaw- is not the work of any sort of four-leaf clover that Solskjaer is working with. 

What The Baby-faced Assassin has brought to the squad is that never-say-never mentality Manchester United were known for in Ferguson's days. Solskjaer got that from Ferguson, he was part of the teams that were consistently indefatigable and relentless in pursuit of glory. 

Ferguson now back to full health is very much around Manchester United these days; he was there in Paris. 

"Great the see the boss (Ferguson) in there after the game," Solskjaer said after the game. 

The values Ferguson spent years inspiring in Manchester United are written all over Solskjaer's Manchester United. 

Those were what he embodied in all his years as a player, those were the values that propelled him to drag Manchester United from the jaws of defeat on several occasions as a player. 

11 years later, he's back to drag Manchester United’s season from misery to cusp of history.