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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Top five Manchester United moments

Sports Mole looks back on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's top five moments for Manchester United, amid reports linking him with the managerial vacancy at Cardiff City.

If the rumour mill is to be believed, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could soon be about to return to the Premier League as the new manager of Cardiff City.

The Norwegian has previous experience of English football, having spent 11 years as a player with Manchester United.

The current Molde boss made such an impact that to this day he is still regarded to be a hero among the Old Trafford faithful.

So, with the 40-year-old thought to be close to a move to Wales, Sports Mole has picked out five of his best moments in a Manchester United shirt.

1. First goal
Sir Alex Ferguson had spent the majority of the summer of 1996 chasing Alan Shearer, but to no avail. Instead, the United boss turned his attention to a little-known striker from Norway, who made his debut as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers on August 25. It took Solskjaer just six minutes to find the net, firing in at the second attempt after Tim Flowers had saved his initial effort to secure a 2-2 draw for his new club.

2. Sinking Liverpool
During the pre-season break of 1998, Dwight Yorke arrived at United and in time formed an almost telepathic understanding with Andy Cole. It meant that, along with Teddy Sheringham, Solskjaer often had to settle for appearances from the bench. One of those arrived in January 1999 during a FA Cup tie against rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. An early goal from Michael Owen looked to have booked the away side's place in the next round, but Yorke cancelled that out with two minutes from time. With a replay looking likely, Solskjaer, who had been on the pitch nine minutes, fired into the bottom corner of the net in stoppage time.

3. Four against Forest
When Solskjaer entered the action at the City Ground in the 71st minute, United were leading 4-1, with Cole and Yorke having both bagged braces. The frontman has since recalled that he was told by coach Jim Ryan to keep things tight and to not get carried away, but he evidently didn't listen. When the final whistle was blown, United had beaten Nottingham Forest 8-1 thanks to four Solskjaer goals in a nine-minute spell.

4. One night in Barcelona
Among many contenders, this was Solskjaer's finest moment in a United shirt - again as a substitute. The Red Devils went into the 1999 Champions League final at the Camp Nou looking to secure an unprecedented treble. It appeared, though, that Mario Basler's goal for Bayern Munich in the sixth minute had sealed the trophy for the Germans. However, as they often did during that campaign, United left it extremely late. Sheringham scuffed United level in the first minute of stoppage time, before Solskjaer intervened two minutes later when he lifted the ball into roof of the net from close range to break Bayern hearts.

5. Comeback goal
From 2003 to 2006, Solskjaer had been troubled with a succession of injuries which had limited his appearances. It seemed that he had made a recovery in time for the 2006-07 campaign, having featured as a substitute against Fulham on the opening day. He appeared from the bench again three days later away at Charlton Athletic with United leading 2-0. The visitors would eventually win the match 3-0 thanks to a late goal from Solskjaer, who fittingly was able to celebrate in front of the away following.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates a goal against West Bromwich Albion.
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1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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