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BARCELONA — Lionel Messi scored a brilliant solo goal as Barcelona saw off Napoli on Saturday but they are likely to need something even more special from their captain to beat Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Messi’s weaving run and finish came between an early Clement Lenglet header and a Luis Suarez penalty, also won by Messi, as Barca stormed into a 3-0 lead in the first half at Camp Nou. 

But Lorenzo Insigne gave Napoli hope just before the interval and an unconvincing second period from Barcelona left them hanging on for a 3-1 win on the night, 4-2 on aggregate.

“A second goal would have given them a feeling of euphoria that can hurt you,” said Barca coach Quique Setien. 

“It’s normal to get a little nervous.”

In winning the penalty, Messi took a heavy kick from Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and needed treatment.

“It was a heavy knock,” said Setien. “It will have to be treated but I don’t think there is a problem.”

After finishing five points behind Real Madrid in La Liga, Barca resumed in the Champions League with doubts hanging over the form of the team and the future of their coach. 

Setien said on Friday he had not considered resigning but failure in Europe, after a turbulent domestic campaign, would likely take the decision out of his hands. 

Victory against Napoli eases the pressure but the performance will not inspire confidence, even with Messi seemingly rejuvenated after three weeks rest. 

Napoli, whose own league season only finished last weekend, should have had the advantage of rhythm but a disastrous opening half-an-hour left them with too much to do. 

Koulibaly, linked with a move to several elite European clubs this summer, endured a particularly disappointing night. 

Yet, Barcelona will have to improve significantly to match Bayern, who advanced after putting seven past Chelsea over two legs and are arguably favourites to win the tournament.

“It’s going to be very complicated,” admitted Setien ahead of the quarter-final on Friday.

Messi now has four goals in his last three games and in a one-off match in Lisbon, the Argentinian is capable of anything.

But Bayern have their own trump card in Robert Lewandowski and a more complete team that makes them heavy favourites to reach the semis.

Napoli began an eventful first half by hitting the post as Dries Mertens went close with a miskicked half-volley, only for Lenglet to head in for Barca from Ivan Rakitic’s corner after nine minutes. 

Messi made it two after a barnstorming run in which he fell to the ground only to dart back up and bundle his way through three Napoli defenders before curling into the far corner. 

He thought he had another after finishing off a delightful pass from the outside of Frenkie de Jong’s right foot but it was ruled out, the ball feathering Messi’s arm as he controlled it. 

But he could not be suppressed for long, harrying the unsuspecting Koulibaly in the penalty area and poking the ball away from his opponent, who was already swinging to clear and succeeded only in bringing Messi down. 

Messi needed treatment and deferred the penalty to Suarez, who drove into the top corner but Napoli made it 3-1 deep in first half stoppage time, Insigne scoring from the spot after Rakitic barged into Mertens. 

Napoli needed two more to progress and enjoyed their best spell early in the second period. 

They might have tested Barcelona’s nerves if Arkadiusz Milik’s header 10 minutes from the end had stood while Hirving Lozano’s late header hit the foot of the post. 

Barca were relieved to hear the whistle. 

MANCHESTER — Pep Guardiola came out on top in his duel with Zinedine Zidane on Friday and then reminded his Manchester City players that their 2-1 win over Real Madrid that took them into the Champions League quarter-finals was just “one step” in their quest for European success.

City capitalised on two shocking mistakes by Raphael Varane to get their goals, with Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus scoring either side of a Karim Benzema strike for the visitors in this last 16 second leg, played at an empty Etihad Stadium.

After winning by the same scoreline in Madrid back in February, before the coronavirus forced the competition into hibernation, Guardiola’s team advance 4-2 on aggregate to the final tournament in Lisbon. They will now play Lyon there in the quarter-finals next Saturday.

Guardiola would also have been delighted to claim the scalp of Zidane, who had never been knocked out of Europe’s elite club competition as Real coach, leading them to three consecutive victories between 2016 and 2018 in his first spell before returning to the job last year.

“It is important, we beat them twice. Zinedine Zidane never lost knockout games,” Guardiola told BT Sport.

“You see the calm and personality they play with, they are good, but we are here to try and win the Champions League.

“It is one step, if we think that is enough we will show how small we are. If you want to win you have to beat the big clubs.”

He added: “We are more than satisfied. The players will go to Portugal to try to make the next step. We know exactly what team we beat.”

The circumstances may be highly unusual, but this is still City’s finest Champions League result, their most significant victory in a knockout tie.

City’s best performance in the competition remains a run to the semifinals in 2016, when they went out rather limply to Real.

Now, with only two former winners still involved in Bayern Munich and Barcelona, City should very possibly be considered the favourites to win the competition in Lisbon on August 23.

If they do so, the victory would taste all the sweeter coming so soon after their successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport against a two-year ban from Europe for Financial Fair Play breaches.

However, Guardiola will be wary of Lyon, who took four points off City in the 2018/19 group stage.

As for Real, they missed the suspended Sergio Ramos but were undone by mistakes by their other first-choice centre-back.

Varane was dispossessed inside the box in the ninth minute allowing Sterling to put City ahead, and his poor headed backpass attempt gifted Jesus another goal midway through the second half.

But they will get over this.

They have dined out on success in the Champions League in recent years, yet, their main objective after the coronavirus shutdown was to win La Liga and they did that.

“Ninety-five per cent of what we did this year was excellent. We have to be very proud of the team, of what we have done this season,” Zidane said.

Uphill struggle

It was already going to be an uphill struggle for them in the absence of Ramos, sent off late in the first leg, and their task became even harder after they conceded an early opener.

City’s high pressing paid off as Varane was barged off the ball in his own area by Jesus, who squared for Sterling to score.

There was a response from the 13-time European champions, though, with Benzema and Eden Hazard forcing saves from Ederson before their equaliser arrived in the 28th minute.

A fine move ended with Benzema feeding Rodrygo and the young Brazilian clipping in a cross from the right for the Frenchman to head in from the edge of the six-yard box.

It was his 65th Champions League goal, putting him one clear of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski on the overall list and behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Raul.

However, the tie was effectively ended by another Varane blooper.

The Frenchman struggled with an awkward high ball downfield and his header back towards Thibaut Courtois was short, allowing Jesus to prod it beyond the goalkeeper and in.

Real will not return to Lisbon, where they won the Champions League in 2014, but the dream remains alive for Guardiola and City.

AMMAN — Ali Al Qaisi will make history by becoming the first Jordanian to fight in the prestigious Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The 29-year-old will fight Irwin Rivera in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The experienced Mexican won four times in his nine fights.

Qaisi, known as “The Royal Fighter”, has been one of the Middle East’s top Mixed Martial Arts performers in recent years and signed a deal with the UFC after impressing a regional events including “Brave” and “Desert Force”.

“I have worked so hard to get to this position so will be making the most of my opportunity,” he said. “I’m so honoured to be the first Jordanian fighter to raise the Jordan flag at such an event. But this is just the beginning, the hard work is yet to come.”

MIAMI — Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum powered the Boston Celtics to a 122-100 rout of defending NBA champion Toronto on Friday, keeping the Raptors from clinching the Eastern Conference second seed.

Brown scored 20 points, Tatum added 18 and Kemba Walker added 17 for the Celtics (46-23), who pulled within 3.5 games of second-place Toronto and three ahead of fourth-place Miami.

“We’re getting there,” Tatum said. “I don’t want to put a cap on it, say where our ceiling is, but we’re improving every day and we don’t want to stop.”

The Celtics, who boasted seven double-figure scorers, never trailed against the NBA’s second-best defensive squad, jumping ahead 52-37 at halftime and outscoring the Raptors 39-20 in the third quarter.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise when your offense is dialled in like that,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

Fred VanVleet led Toronto with only 13 points, but the Celtics and Raptors could face each other in the second round of the play-offs and both sides know it could be much different.

“They are a good team,” Tatum said. “We’ll probably see them again.”

The Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic clinched the last two berths in the East play-offs in different fashions.

Brooklyn, led by 22 points from Caris LeVert and 21 from Joe Harris, routed Sacramento 119-106. The Nets (33-36) ensured ninth-place Washington could not pull within four games to force a play-in series under NBA restart rules.

Orlando (32-38) had a chance to win and seal a berth but the Philadelphia 76ers rallied in the second half to beat the Magic 108-101.

Instead, the Magic reached the play-offs when Washington lost to New Orleans 118-107, leaving the Wizards (24-45) the only winless bubble team and too far back to threaten Orlando.

Cameroonian star Joel Embiid had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the 76ers while Tobias Harris added 23 points and 15 rebounds, Al Horford scored 21 and reserve Alec Burks contributed 22.

The Magic began the fourth quarter with a 3-for-17 shooting slump from the floor and the 76ers, missing Australian star Ben Simmons due to a left knee injury, went on a 9-1 run over 4:30 for a 97-87 edge to seal it.

Sixers coach Brett Brown liked Embiid boosting his game in the second half.

“I loved his physical approach. The team needs that and feeds off that,” he said. “There was a physicality we didn’t show much of in the first half.”

Grizzlies halt skid

The Memphis Grizzlies, clinging to eighth in the Western Conference, snapped a four-game restart losing skid by routing Oklahoma City 121-92.

“We’ve learned from it and were able to come out and get a win tonight,” Grizzlies rookie star Ja Morant said.

“We learned to play 48 minutes of basketball and just be disciplined, trust our teammates, and play hard.”

Memphis guard Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 22 points while Morant and Jonas Valanciunas each had 19 points.

Oklahoma City, without New Zealand centre Steven Adams due to a left leg injury, led by as many as 18 points in the first half but a 70-41 Memphis run produced a 95-78 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Grizzlies, 33-37, finish season games by facing the East’s three top teams — Toronto, Boston and NBA wins leader Milwaukee.

The Thunder fell to sixth in the West at 42-26, a half-game behind Utah.

San Antonio guard Derrick White scored 24 points while Austrian 7-footer Jakob Poeltl added 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs over Utah 119-111.

The Spurs, seeking a play-off berth for a record 23rd consecutive season, improved to 30-38, one game behind ninth-place Portland and a play-in spot with three games remaining.

Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to lead the Jazz (43-26) with 24 points.

LONDON — Zinedine Zidane may never have been hired as Real Madrid coach but for the success of Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, but it is Guardiola who now must follow the Frenchman's example to complete his mission at Manchester City.

Zidane's Madrid travel to Manchester on Friday looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit from February as the Champions League resumes after a five-month coronavirus shutdown.

Much has changed since the sides last met. Then under pressure, Zidane, in his second spell in charge at the Bernabeu, has again interrupted Barca's dominance of La Liga with a run of 10 straight victories after Spanish football's return in June to take the title.

Even for the club where Champions League success matters more than anything else, the pressure is off Madrid as Zidane looks to protect his perfect record in the competition as a coach.

Three times he led Madrid to Champions League glory in his first spell in charge between 2016 and 2018 and Zidane is yet to be eliminated from the competition as a coach.

"When he has done what he has done, winning three Champions Leagues in a row, taking two La Liga titles from Barca when they — in this decade — have dominated this competition like no other club, it shows his ability," Guardiola told DAZN.

"Although people may not believe me because he is from Real Madrid, I am very happy that things are going well because it is very good for football that things go well for people like him."

Barca blueprint

When Zidane was first handed the Madrid job, they were aiming to copy the formula of their rivals in appointing a former midfield great, who had only previously coached the club's youth team.

Guardiola won 14 trophies in four seasons at the Camp Nou between 2008 and 2012, including two Champions Leagues.

League titles and cups have continued to flow for Guardiola at Bayern Munich and in Manchester, but he has not tasted success in Europe's elite club competition since 2011.

Despite winning two Premier League titles among six major trophies since arriving in England, Guardiola admitted earlier this season his time at City would be judged "a failure" if he did not win the Champions League.

The pressure on City has reduced since the first leg as their two-season ban from European competition was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning this month is not their final chance for three years to end their wait to win the Champions League.

However, Guardiola has hinted they may never get a better chance, with the competition reduced to one-off matches from the quarter-finals and all on a neutral site behind closed doors in Lisbon.

The former Barca and Bayern boss has often lamented the lack of atmosphere generated by the City support on big European nights compared with the cauldrons of some of the continent's more intimidating arenas.

"Of course, we have the chance to fight [again next season] but the situation that we have is not coming back again," said Guardiola. "I think the big clubs don't miss these chances to try until the last effort they have in their bodies."

Finishing the job against Madrid would be a major milestone as City's first knockout victory against a former winner in nine seasons in the Champions League.

Zidane has repeatedly stated his belief that Guardiola is "the best coach in the world".

But after finishing 18 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League this season, it is the former Barca ball boy, player and manager who needs to do what Madrid have made a habit of — transforming miserable domestic seasons into memorable Champions League triumphs.

ORLANDO — Luka Doncic delivered a monster triple-double performance as the Dallas Mavericks bagged their first win of the NBA’s relaunched season in an overtime thriller against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Slovenian scored 34 points, with 20 rebounds and 12 assists as the Mavericks completed a 114-110 victory to get their campaign back on track in the Western Conference.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis also came up big with 22 points apiece as the Mavericks overturned an 11-point deficit to seal victory at the HP Field House on the NBA’s Orlando campus.

Doncic’s masterclass made him the youngest player in NBA history to score 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double.

“It wasn’t our best game — far from that,” Doncic said. “We fought, we hung in there, we helped each other, we never gave up. We needed that win and you can never count us out for sure.”

“Nothing came easy in this game at all,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “It was a struggle, and everybody kept everybody together, and we just kept saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to find a way,’ and guys were encouraging each other.

“Really a well-deserved win for our guys.”

The win saw the Mavericks, who have already guaranteed a play-off place, improve to 41-29 in the Western Conference.

Sacramento’s chances of sneaking into the postseason remain slim however. The Kings have lost all three of their games since the league restarted and are 13th in the West, on the brink of elimination.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns continued their hot streak in Orlando with a third straight victory to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 117-115.

Devin Booker was the hero for Phoenix, scoring on the buzzer to cap a 35-point display and a dramatic win over the highly rated Clipper.

Booker, who was mobbed by teammates as he fell backwards on the court, also had four rebounds and eight assists.

The 23-year-old was one of five Phoenix players to finish in double figures, with Deandre Ayton (19 points) and Ricky Rubio (18) the pick of the other Suns scorers.

The win keeps Phoenix’s hopes of forcing their way into the postseason alive. The Suns are within a game of ninth place and firmly in the hunt to earn a place in the play-in tournament.

“Our guys just grew up tonight to play against a team that possibly could win a championship,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said.

Booker said Phoenix could be the surprise package of the postseason.

“Coming into the bubble overall, we said we want to make some noise,” Booker said. “We want to be that under-the-radar team that just comes in and works hard and plays hard. That’s what we did tonight.”

In the Eastern Conference on Tuesday, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored a career-high 26 points as the Brooklyn Nets delayed Milwaukee’s coronation as top seeds with an upset 119-116 win.

Luwawu-Cabarrot nailed consecutive three-pointers in the closing stages to set up a come-from-behind win over the Bucks, who could have sealed first place in the East with a victory.

It was a second straight loss for the Bucks, who were also beaten by the Houston Rockets in Orlando on Sunday.

Milwaukee, the runaway leaders of the Eastern Conference with 54 wins against 14 defeats, will get another chance to lock up top spot against the Miami Heat on Thursday.

Injury-depleted Brooklyn, meanwhile, remain on track to clinch the eighth and final play-off place from the Eastern Conference.

Luwawu-Cabarrot’s late intervention in the fourth quarter eventually tipped the game in Brooklyn’s favour with just under three minutes left.

A three-pointer from the 25-year-old Frenchman put the Nets ahead at 112-110, and then a second three-pointer with 2min 31sec remaining gave Brooklyn a five-point cushion at 115-110.

A Kyle Korver jump shot took the Bucks to back within one point at 115-114 with just under two minutes remaining, but Tyler Johnson’s layup put Brooklyn three points clear soon afterwards.

Donte DiVincenzo narrowed the deficit to one point with a running layup but Garrett Temple then hit back for Brooklyn to complete the scoring at 119-116.

Luwawu-Cabarrot led the scoring for Brooklyn with backing from Temple (19 points) and Johnson (11).

The Nets were without Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris, or Caris LeVert, as well as long-term absentees Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Meanwhile Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks scoring with 16 points from his 15 minutes on court before sitting out the second half.

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom — As the dust settled, world championship leader Lewis Hamilton reflected with some relief on two important successes after his dramatic three-wheel triumph in the British Grand Prix.

His victory for Mercedes on Sunday lifted Hamilton 30 points clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas in this year’s title race. 

The race helped him take another step towards his goal of a record-equalling seventh championship, and a much better-organised pre-race ceremony offered a clearer demonstration of the sport’s proclaimed anti-racism stance.

But his first thoughts on Monday centred on what might have happened when his front left tyre laminated and disintegrated on the final lap.

“As the minutes go by I feel worse and worse when I think about what just happened,” he said late Sunday evening.

“In the heat of the moment, the adrenaline is going, but if the tyre gave up in a high-speed corner, it would have been a much different picture so I feel incredibly grateful that it didn’t...”

Hamilton’s plight after his front left-tyre failed, leaving him running on three wheels while his car lurched and sparked on the surface of the circuit was, he said, with a heart-stopping experience.

“It was my survival instinct that came out and I was able to stay calm and really measured to bring the thing home,” he said. “I’ve never known anything like that before.”

On his final lap, a luxurious lead of more than 30 seconds was cut to only 5.8 as he reached the chequered flag ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was 28 seconds faster than Hamilton on the lap.

For team boss Toto Wolff, Hamilton’s battle to survive and Bottas’ identical problem two laps earlier, which forced him to pit from second and finish 11th, was proof that repeated warnings to his team to guard against complacency were justified, even though Mercedes had outclassed their opponents in the three season-opening races.

“I know that I get lots of criticism when I point out that black swan events happen, that once you think everything is smooth and you’re just cruising into the sunset, these things can unfold,” said Wolff.

“But we could have easily lost two cars today, been out of the points and then our points advantage would have vanished in a second. We may have had the fastest car at Silverstone, but come home with zero.

“The race isn’t over until the flag drops.”

Wolff added that the team did not know the exact cause of the punctures.

“It could have been debris,” he said.

‘Respect for each other’

Hamilton himself said he felt satisfied at the more organised anti-racism protest on the start-finish line before the race.

Seven drivers chose to stand while 13 took a knee, Kevin Magnussen of Haas joining the six who had stood at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix before the chaotic and muddled displays at the second and third races.

“I am happy with what happened,” said Hamilton, the sport’s only black driver. “Formula One did a much, much better job after a lot of discussion last week about how we can come together and do it.”

“I’m not going to tell you my opinion on whether or not everyone needs to kneel or not, but if you look at all the other sports... They are all doing it united.

“When the reasoning for not doing it is how you think it would be perceived in your country, all you have to do is look at other sports.”

“But bit-by-bit I think we will just try to improve each other’s understanding. I think the most important thing is the drivers continue to have respect for each other, which I think we do, and maybe there needs to be more conversation.”

ORLANDO — Four months after COVID-19 sent basketball into an unprecedented shutdown, the NBA takes a leap into the unknown on Thursday as the league bids to resurrect its season at Disney World in Florida.

The Utah Jazz launch the rebooted campaign against the New Orleans Pelicans before LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard go head-to-head in a heavyweight Los Angeles derby between the Lakers and the Clippers.

The two games mark the start of a painstakingly crafted plan to stage the remainder of the basketball season safely in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

To mitigate the risks, the NBA is basing 22 teams within a tightly controlled “bubble” inside Disney World’s sprawling 104-square kilometre campus in Orlando.

Teams will play games at three venues inside the ESPN World Wide of Sports complex inside the park, with no fans in attendance and only a smattering of journalists at each game.

Just over 350 players will be housed at three hotels located throughout Disney World, with access to each location severely restricted and visits from outsiders strictly forbidden until the playoffs start.

Players arriving in Orlando were required to spend 48 hours isolated in their hotel rooms until they had received two negative tests for COVID-19.

Testing will continue inside the bubble, but it is not known how frequently this will take place.

While multi-millionaire stars such as the Lakers’ James have joked that entering the bubble felt like starting a jail term, so far the launch of the project has gone smoothly.

Practice games have passed off without a hitch, and the most recent round of testing found zero positive cases out of 346 players tested.

“It requires significant sacrifice from our players,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The New York Times this week.

“From my standpoint, it’s going very well, and I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re on the right track,” Silver added.

“But I also recognise what we’re doing has not been done before, and the competition is just beginning. The real test will come when players are commingling, playing basketball without masks and without physical distancing.”

There have been some early glitches however as players adjust to the relatively spartan surroundings of the bubble.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams was forced to quarantine for 10 days after being photographed at an Atlanta strip club during a trip to attend a family funeral.

The Sacramento Kings’ Richaun Holmes also landed back in quarantine after he left the bubble to pick-up a delivery of take-out food.

Inside the bubble’s three arenas, meanwhile, the legacy of the tumultuous protests which erupted in the weeks following the death of George Floyd in May will be on full view.

Giant “Black Lives Matter” slogans have been written on each court, while players will be allowed to wear jerseys adorned with social justice messages ranging from “I Can’t Breathe” to “Justice Now” and “Education Reform”.

On the courts, all eyes will be on James and his Lakers teammates as they attempt to return to the pinnacle of the NBA when the season wraps in October.

After a disappointing first season in Los Angeles, where the Lakers failed to reach the playoffs, James returned with a vengeance this season, leading the team to the top of the Western Conference before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.

The Lakers and five other Western Conference teams — the Clippers, the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets have already assured themselves of spots in the playoffs, which start on August 17.

The biggest threat to James’ hopes of winning a fourth NBA championship is expected to come from the Eastern Conference, where Giannis Antetokounmpo is aiming to guide the Milwaukee Bucks to their first title in nearly half a century. The Bucks had ran away with the Eastern Conference before the hiatus, opening up a 6.5 game lead over the Toronto Raptors.

Antetokounmpo, who grew up in poverty in Greece as the son of Nigerian immigrants, smiles at the suggestion NBA players are facing hardship in their confined environment in Orlando.

“It doesn’t matter where you are in life, there’s always something to complain, there’s always a problem and an issue,” Antetokounmpo said.

Antetokounmpo’s viewpoint was echoed by Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams.

“This is not Syria. We’re living in a bloody resort,” the New Zealander said. 

LONDON — Manchester United’s return to the Champions League is a significant milestone, as the Red Devils seek to close the gap to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in the battle for Premier League supremacy.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men held their nerve on a final-day shootout for a place in the top four, winning 2-0 at Leicester to complete a 14-game unbeaten run in the league and end the season best of the rest in third place.

“Liverpool and City have been running away with it in the last couple of seasons so to get third is a massive achievement for the team,” said Solskjaer.

A huge 33-point gap to champions Liverpool shows the strides they still have to make to become title contenders again, but since the January signing of Bruno Fernandes transformed the mood and results at Old Trafford, no team in the Premier League has won more points.

“Bringing Bruno in, in January, has made a big difference,” said Harry Maguire, who cost United a world record $103 million for a defender at the start of the season.

“To finish third in the Premier League should be a minimum requirement from this club, but next season we have to keep improving and building.”

The Norwegian has already proved himself adept at building a counter-attacking team capable of upsetting the odds. United have beaten both Chelsea and City three times this season and were the only team in 36 games between March 2019 and February 2020 to take a Premier League point from Liverpool.

However, the arrival of Fernandes, the emergence of 18-year-old Mason Greenwood, Paul Pogba’s return from injury and the development of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial into 20-goal-a-season forwards has improved United’s ability to see off weaker opposition.

“I think it’s a big day for Ole, it gives him some peace and demonstrates progress,” said former United captain Gary Neville after the victory at Leicester. “They look like they can win games in different ways.”

During his 19 months in charge, Solskjaer has repeatedly stressed the need for a culture change as well as a return to winning ways on the pitch.

Greenwood and Rashford are not the only academy graduates to make important contributions this season. Brandon Williams and Scott McTominay are established squad players, while United have also got back to picking off exciting young British talent from other clubs in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James.

“We are going places and we’ve got a team you can like. You can see the DNA of Manchester United. At least that’s what I feel,” said Solskjaer.

The income from the Champions League will aid that rebuild.

Even prior to the economic hit caused by coronavirus with the loss of matchday income and rebates to broadcasters, United expected their revenue to shrink by up to £67 million this season without Champions League football.

On top of extra TV and prize money, United also stood to lose substantially from clauses in certain commercial contracts had they missed the spotlight provided by European football’s premier competition for two consecutive seasons.

Key to United’s improvement from sixth last season to third has been the success of their four big signings in Fernandes, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and James, compared with wasted transfer fees and wages spent on players in previous years, including Alexis Sanchez.

If they are to keep heading in the right direction, their recruitment must be spot on again, with Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho reportedly United’s premier target for the summer.