Ten of the best: United's amazing away run

The Reds broke the club's previous best of seven consecutive league away wins (set under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1993) with a 3-2 win over Southampton last month, and have since added a further two wins.

 

On Thursday night, Solskjaer's men reached double figures, after coming from behind for the sixth consecutive Premier League away fixture to beat Sheffield United 3-2 at Bramall Lane.

 

It's a remarkable achievement - only the fourth time in English football history that a team has won 10 or more top-flight away games in succession.

What's even more remarkable is just how many goals United have scored during the streak, too. While away wins are often associated with gritty clean sheets and defensive efforts, the Reds have smashed an incredible 29 goals in the 10 matches, including at least three in each of the last six Premier League away games.

 

But after the win in Sheffield, Solskjaer played down the achievement, and referenced the fact that fans had been absent for all but one of the wins - West Ham, when around 2,000 home supporters were allowed to attend.

“It’s a brilliant record, but this is not away against Sheffield United as it normally is and so, for me, it’s just 10 games that we’ve had to be on the coach and play a game to win. The atmosphere is so different, but of course we’re proud of the record.”

Here's how we put the remarkable run together...

 

 

Our first post-lockdown away win was achieved in superb style, with Mason Greenwood opening the scoring and a Bruno Fernandes double ensuring a comfortable evening. The Portuguese's second – which was supplied by a delicious Greenwood assist – was a goal that more than justified comparison with United's 1993 vintage.

 

 

More of the same followed at Villa Park. Fernandes gave us the lead from the spot, before classy finishes from Greenwood and Pogba secured another straightforward night at the office.

 

 

United had to work for the points at Selhurst Park – just three days after a challenging draw with Southampton at Old Trafford – but Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial struck towards the end of each half to seal the points.

 

United needed a point to qualify for the Champions League, and ended up winning the game thanks to a clean sheet, a Fernandes penalty and Jesse Lingard's added-time clincher.

 

 

Our second Premier League trip to Brighton in 2020 couldn't have been more of a contrast to the first. United went behind, came back through an own goal and a stunning solo effort from Rashford, but then conceded a heartbreaking equaliser when Solly March powered home in injury time. However, there was to be a staggering denouement, as the Reds were awarded a penalty via VAR after the final whistle, when Neal Maupay was adjudged to have handled during the final passage of play. Incredibly, in the 100th minute, Bruno stepped up to secure our first points of the new season.

 

 

Fernandes missed his first penalty for United on this trip to St James's Park and, with less than 10 minutes remaining, it seemed destined to go down as a costly mistake, with the match tied at 1-1. But in the final five minutes, the Portuguese magnifico finished off a delicious counter-attack, before Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Rashford added a welcome gloss to the scoreline in the dying minutes.

 

United fell behind again early on, but two goals from Fernandes gave us a deserved lead by half-time, and Edinson Cavani's first for the club settled matters in injury time. 

 

 

The Reds were 2-0 down at the interval on the south coast, where the away run seemed destined to end, but Cavani again came on to make a huge impact. First he set up Bruno to halve the Saints' deficit, then he struck twice to give us a dramatic win.

 

Ex-Reds manager David Moyes must have sniffed a rare triumph over his former team when Tomas Soucek gave the Hammers a deserved lead in this clash at the London Stadium. Solskjaer's men were well off the pace until the second half, but a Paul Pogba rocket ignited something, and within 10 minutes we were 3-1 up and coasting, following excellent efforts from Greenwood and Rashford.

 

 

The Reds fell behind for a sixth consecutive time on the road in the Premier League at Bramall Lane, but the comeback habit remained in superb working order. Two from Rashford, and Martial's first league goal of the season, were enough to earn all three points, despite David McGoldrick's double.