They were, at a point in the season, in 14th place, with 13 points from 11 games, with the top four seeming like an impossibility. Now? A third-place finish, and a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Who would have known?

Prior to Manchester United’s most crucial game of the season, the Red Devils had experienced some setbacks along their path of resurgence, by first failing to close the gap on the top four against Southampton, then losing out on the FA Cup to Chelsea, and then failing to beat West Ham United in their previous game.

The stakes were high in this match against Leicester, who needed to take all three points against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to seal qualification for next season’s Champions League

United emerged winners 2 – 0 at the King Power Stadium, fighting off relentless opposition from the Foxes to finish in 3rd place ahead of Chelsea, who won their own game by the same score-line against Wolves to take the final ticket to Europe.

Following the most key fixture so far of United’s season, here are five talking points from the match against Leicester, who will now have to head into next season’s Europa League:

1.    Bruno Fernandes was just the player United needed to redeem their season.

By now, the Portuguese will be hailed as the hero of Manchester United’s resurgence. After an initial shambolic first start to the season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew his side desperately needed reinforcements especially in the midfield, and his procurement of Fernandes has shown that he responded to that need in the most apt fashion.

From leading an initial 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions, scoring 10 goals in 20 games for the Red Devils, to helping them seal their place in Europe’s premier competition, the Portuguese can only be described as United’s best signing this season.

Apart from the last few games he has played, clearly impacted by the fatigue of playing every game for United in a tight period of fixtures, he has otherwise been superb in the red jersey – winning two Player of the Month awards to that effect.

And he showed his influence again in this match, converting a penalty won by Anthony Martial after a foul on the Frenchman in the second half.

2.     Lingard finally scored his first goal of the season – which is, coincidentally, the last goal of the season.

Following Fernandes’s goal, United gained more and more control of the game, although Leicester piled on the pressure as the final whistle approached.

But their woes were compounded when former United player Johnny Evans was sent off after a dangerous tackle on Scot McTominay in stoppage time.

Jesse Lingard was brought on to help see the game out, and prior to his coming on he had not scored or assisted a single goal throughout the campaign – but the Englishman capitalized on an error from Leicester’s goalkeeper to clear the ball, taking it off him and sending the ball into an empty net to seal United’s place in the Champions League.

His first goal, in United’s last Premier League game has turned out to be the last goal of the Premier League season.

The first and the last. Talk about a coincidence there.

3.     Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has proven Manchester United’s loss of the FA Cup to be a blessing in disguise after all.

After the agony of losing out on the FA Cup, getting knocked out of the final by a 3 – 1 loss to Chelsea, the United boss received a lot of backlash for the seemingly critical tactical errors he made going into the game.

But now, his critics will remain silent as Solskjaer’s gamble with the FA Cup, prioritizing the Premier League top-four instead, has indeed turned out to be his best gamble this season one that has paid off significantly, and will have numerous benefits for his side and his position as United’s manager.

Had he chosen to focus on winning his first managerial trophy in the FA Cup, but yet failing to qualify for the Champions League in the process, there’s a possibility he would have met a fate similar to that of former United boss Louis van Gaal, at the end of the 2015/2016 season.

The Dutchman won the FA Cup, defeating Crystal Palace 2 – 1, but failed to get into Europe, and was duly dismissed.

It’s a good thing Solskjaer’s gamble helped him avoid that.

4.     Leicester City, despite missing out on the Champions League, get the chance to experience the Europa League for the first time.

They’ll not be in the Champions League, but at least the Foxes will experience a whole new competition for them in the Europa League.
The last time they were in the Champions League was after their fairytale season of 2015/16, where they won the league title, and got to play European football for the very first time.

For a first-time European side, they did unexpectedly well, finishing top of their group, advancing into the knockout stages, before their lack of European experience did them in as they were knocked out by a superior Atletico Madrid.
So, while they lack the experience and pedigree of most European clubs, they definitely have the heart and attitude required to play in Europe.

We’ll see, hopefully, how they fare in their debut season in the Europa League.

5.     The Red Devils finally achieved the key objective of their resurgence.

For all they achieved in the second half of the season, there was certainly some uneasiness about their resurgent campaign as United seemed to be losing it in the late stages of the season.

While fatigue and injuries, understandably, played their role, their draws at home against Southampton and West Ham were, at the least, some cause for concern.

But they’ve remained formidable on the road, and their wins against Crystal Palace and now, Leicester, are proof of that.

While their unbeaten streaks and the records they’ve set are well and good, those should never have been focal points of their resurgence.

Because those things at certain times clouded their vision, which was a top-four finish, and it showed in the matches they failed to win.

Nevertheless, they’ve achieved that key objective, which now makes all the effort they’ve put in since January, worthwhile.

It was a memorable win for United, as they, alongside Chelsea, seized their last and final opportunity to go to Europe.

They now have the means to bring in to the club a handful of those stars they’ve had their sights on for much of the season, particularly the likes of Jadon Sancho; but one thing remains clear from their season.

For now, they should celebrate. They were, at one point in the season, 14 points behind Leicester, and now, they’ve finished in 3rdplace above the Foxes.

They’ve shown they deserve to go into the Champions League.

And they can still cap off the season on a more positive note by winning the Europa League, a trophy of which they are already listed as favorites to win.

Congratulations to them!