Why Man Utd's Roma comeback has echoes of Mourinho and Solskjaer

It was impossible not to get swept up in the emotion and delirium of Manchester United's late 3-2 Champions League comeback win against Roma. It was a huge result in the sense it bought Carrick some time. But given United's general state, no-one can be sure how much.

As it turned out, the Mirror was wrong. Although United officials at the time tried to play down the situation, sources have since admitted the intention was to sack Mourinho after presiding over the club's worst start to a season in 29 years, and defeat by Newcastle would make it inevitable. Much like the Roma game, the visitors raced into a two-goal lead and the atmosphere in the stadium started to turn, with most of the venom aimed at the director's box rather than the manager.

After the game, Mourinho said the pressure on him was a "manhunt". However, the relationship between manager and club had been turning sour since the previous summer. His demand for Anthony Martial to be sold had been rejected, while record signing Paul Pogba was proving a problem.