Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to familiar surroundings as he took charge of Manchester United for the first time against his former club Cardiff City and witnessed an emphatic 5-1 victory at his old stadium.
The new boss was off his seat less than four minutes into the game as Marcus Rashford skidded a free-kick into the bottom corner and he had further reason to celebrate when Ander Herrera's deflected long-range strike spun wickedly away from Neil Etheridge for the second.
Victor Camarasa's penalty after a contentious Michael Oliver decision brought Cardiff to within a goal of the visitors but only for three minutes as Anthony Martial was on hand to apply the finishing touches to a wonderful team move that involved Paul Pogbaand Jesse Lingard.
Lingard then got himself on the scoresheet in the second half, clinically converting a penalty that he had won himself after tangling with Sol Bamba before sealing a convincing win with a well-taken goal in the final minute of normal time.
It was the first time United had scored five in a Premier League game since Sir Alex Ferguson's final game in charge in May 2013.
What a start for the new man...
Local lads unleashed
If there is one thing that Solskjaer will look to do during his time in charge, it will be to re-position United's values and traditions to the centre of all he does; get the team playing attacking football in Sir Alex's image and give the young players a chance.
Angel Gomes, 18, and James Garner, 17, may not have made the 18-man squad after travelling down to South Wales, yet two other local lads played a key role in United's win as Rashford and Lingard both got on the scoresheet. They, along with Martial, wreaked havoc throughout.
In fairness, Jose Mourinho played both players regularly during his time in charge, but against Cardiff they looked free from the restrictive shackles the Portuguese used to place on them. Rashford, playing in his favoured central striker role, caused Cardiff untold problems with his pace and movement and could have scored more than one.
It was in that position that he made his sensational breakthrough under Louis Van Gaal in 2016 yet too frequently under Mourinho he was thrust into the 'Danny Welbeck role' that of the hard-working diligent winger, spending as much time tracking back as flying forward.
As for Lingard, he was one of few United players to develop under Mourinho and one of an even more exclusive number to send his old boss a message of support after his sacking. Against Cardiff, he started out on the right, but he gravitated more centrally as the game wore on to good effect.
With Rashford substituted late on, it was Lingard who stepped into a central attacking role for the finish and he was there to end the scoring by bursting onto a Pogba pass and rounding Etheridge for the final goal. A good night for all the players in red, but an even better one for the local lads.
Paul Pogba takes centre stage
Paul Pogba arriving at the Cardiff City Stadium (Getty Images)
While much of the criticism directed towards Paul Pogba from the 'real football men™' brigade is often OTT, the Frenchman doesn't help himself sometimes. The Instagram post on Wednesday whether scheduled or not put him in a bad light, while he looked positively ecstatic as he bounced off the United bus ahead of the game in the Welsh capital.
Regardless of whether reports that stated Pogba shouting 'he f***** with the wrong baller' are true or over-exaggerated, it is hardly a secret that Pogba and Mourinho's relationship broke down entirely. Of all the players to benefit from a managerial change, Pogba was the most obvious.
Solskjaer, who spoke glowingly about Pogba back in August, instantly restored him to his starting line-up and placed him in his favoured role on the left of a midfield three. It was inevitable that Pogba would be a central figure in the first game of the post-Mourinho era and so it proved as he was involved in the first three goals as well as the fifth late on.
Pogba was fouled for the free-kick that led to United's first, teed up Herrera for the second and played the pass before the final pass as Martial finished off a wonderful free-flowing move. After going close to scoring with a sublime effort from range, Pogba then slid in Lingard for the game's final goal at the end.
By the end, Pogba had the most touches (114), completed the most passes (84), won the joint-most number of duels (14), got two assists and a fantasy assist. An influential, all-action display, the likes of which was rarely seen in the Mourinho era.
ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK
To say that United universally played objectively 'bad' football under Mourinho would be a little unfair. They did have their moments, yet this season, in particular, there didn't appear to be much of a plan when the players got to the final third. It all became a bit hopeful.
Solskjaer will have tougher tests than Cardiff to come, but it was encouraging that United's players moved the ball so much more quickly and inter-changed positions more freely, in his first game in charge. The verve that United lacked under Mourinho was back with a vengeance here.
United's new-found liberty going forward was best emphasised during their third goal, finished off coolly by the returning Martial. It was he who initiated the increase in tempo initially, popping the ball into Pogba's feet at speed before latching on to Lingard's return pass, darting around Sean Morrison and sliding the ball past Etheridge.
The chant 'attack, attack, attack' has been belted around the Old Trafford terraces frequently since Ferguson's departure, particularly during the pedestrian days of Van Gaal and Mourinho. Solskjaer might not be the man long-term, but it does at least look as though he will try to get his team playing more enterprising football.
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