Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Testimonial: Man. United 1 Espanyol 0

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played 25 minutes in his testimonial, as United beat Catalan side Espanyol 1-0 thanks to a goal from Fraizer Campbell.

That the youngster left it until the 82nd minute to seal the victory was ironic given Solskjaer’s penchant for late winners, as was the calm Campbell exuded in dinking the ball over goalkeeper Alvarez Cristian.

Ole, now 35, looked sharp during his time on the pitch and you can’t help but wonder what role he would have played in the 2008 European Cup final had injury not forced him to retire in August 2007. Against Espanyol he proved he still has the smarts to play at the top level.

Of course, the score on Saturday was always going to take a backseat to Solskjaer on his special day. The Norwegian, who scored 126 goals during his Old Trafford career, emerged last out of the tunnel to walk with his children through a guard of honour formed by the two teams.

Presentations of gifts followed before the match kicked off, the Reds attacking the Scoreboard End. Solskjaer didn’t start – instead he would come off the bench, as he did 150 times for United.

The match began at a sharp pace, with Espanyol winning two quick corners before the Reds clicked into gear. Carlos Tevez was his usual busy self, harrying defenders and keen to get touches on the ball. Nani, making his first pre-season appearance, almost sent the Argentine clear on 14 minutes with a delightful clip over the Espanyol defence.

Nani should have opened the scoring five minutes later when Paul Scholes’ cheeky chip bounced off the post and into his path. He only needed to hit the target, but pulled his shot wide of the right-hand upright. Fletcher and Tevez were similarly wayward shortly afterwards, before Espanyol had their captain, Daniel Jarque, to thank for keeping scores level.

Jarque slid in to block Scholes’ shot on the line after a wonderful, flowing move that began with Tevez skipping past Ivan de la Pena just inside the visitors’ half. In fact, Tevez was the star of the first 45 minutes and Espanyol struggled to come to grips with his speed and strength.

After the break, Nemanja Vidic headed wide from close range, but it was the Catalan side who looked more dangerous. Manager Bartolome Marquez rung the changes at half-time and it was a new-look Espanyol who emerged for the second period.

Sir Alex, too, reshuffled his deck, bringing on Tomasz Kuszczak, Wes Brown, Mikael Silvestre and Fraizer Campbell at the interval.

But it was the substitution made in the 68th minute that really brought Old Trafford to its feet. After a brief warm-up on the south touchline, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer entered the fray to a rapturous standing ovation. His first touch was met with resounding cheers, a trend that continued until the final whistle.

In a two-minute spell just after his introduction, he very nearly found the net, first with a sumptuous left-foot half-volley that brought a spectacular finger-tip save from Alvarez Cristian, and then with a curling shot from the edge of the box that Cristian dealt with rather less convincingly. Two chances, two shots on target: it summed up Solskjaer perfectly.

When the fourth official held up his board indicating three minutes of added time, you couldn’t help but cast your mind back to that memorable night at the Nou Camp in May 1999.

This time, however, there were no injury-time heroics, just a cacophonous appreciation for one of the greatest men to ever pull on a United shirt.

Attendance: 68,868

United: Van der Sar (Kuszczak 46); Simpson, Ferdinand (Brown 46), Vidic (Evans 62), Evra (Silvestre 46); Gibson (O’Shea 62), Fletcher, Scholes, Nani (Campbell 46); Giggs, Tevez (Solskjaer 68)

Booked: Tevez, Scholes

Espanyol: Cristian; Chica (La Cruz 46), Jarque, Riera (Lopes 46), Beranger; A Martinez (Lopez 70), de la Pena (R Martinez 46), Rufete (Callejon 46); Torrejon, Hurtado (Sielva 53), Soriano

Subs not used: Ruiz

Booked: Rufete, Chica, Jarque

Almost 70,000 fans salute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ahead of his testimonial at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Espanyol

The Norwegian shows off the Champions League trophy, bringing back memories of his winning goal against Bayern Munich in the 1999 final

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson presents Solskjaer with a trophy to mark the occasion - he scored 126 goals for the club in 365 matches

Espanyol's defender Daniel Jarque tangles with Carlos Tevez as familiar faces turn out to feature in the friendly encounter

Solskjaer bids an emotional farewell to the huge crowd and will now focus on a coaching career at the club

Fraizer Campbell scores the winner for the hosts after being sent clear by Ryan Giggs eight minutes from time