It was a night of Red Devils redemption for Manchester United on Tuesday evening, with Erik ten Hag's men battling to a pivotal 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen to keep their hopes of Champions League progression alive.

As has been the way so far this season for the Old Trafford outfit, it was far from a vintage display from the hosts as they laboured for much of the proceedings, prior to unlikely hero Harry Maguire powering in an emphatic header to nudge his side in front with less than 20 minutes to play.

The drama didn't end there, however, as the much-maligned Andre Onana produced by far the finest moment of his United career to date to deny Jordan Larsson from the penalty spot at the death, with that vital save helping the Premier League giants to a third successive win in all competitions, ahead of this weekend's Manchester Derby.

Who impressed for Man United vs Galatasaray?

For the most part, the night belonged to the aforementioned pairing of Maguire and Onana, with the under-fire duo helping to somewhat silence the critics by steering Ten Hag and co to a much-needed victory over the Danish champions.

In the case of the latter man, the Cameroonian stopper has endured a dismal start to life in English football having made glaring errors against both Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, in particular, although the 27-year-old began to repay his £47.2m transfer fee with two mammoth saves on the night.

The former Inter Milan ace first produced an acrobatic dive to keep out Lukas Lerager's long-range effort just after the break, before then stealing the headlines in a frantic finale with another top-class save to thwart the unfortunate Larsson – son of one-time United loanee, Henrik.

As for Maguire, fresh from his Man of the Match display against former club Sheffield United, the England international continued his renaissance with an impactful display at both ends, notably getting on the scoresheet, while also winning five of his seven total duels as a marker of his dominance.

Having been stripped of the captaincy over the summer amid what looked like the end of his time in Manchester, to his credit the 30-year-old has fought back to force his way into Ten Hag's thinking once again, with it likely to be a real surprise if the towering centre-back is not called upon against City this weekend.

Another man who will also be hoping to start in the clash with Pep Guardiola's men is Rasmus Hojlund, with the Danish machine showcasing that he can be the long-term solution in that number nine berth.

How did Rasmus Hojlund perform against Copenhagen?

Faced with the club who foolishly sold him to Austrian side Sturm Graz in January 2022, the 20-year-old was not able to gain revenge by bursting the net, yet he did almost everything else in what was a largely complete centre-forward display.

Hailed as "seriously good" by journalist Liam Canning, the former Atalanta man was one of the few who seemed to relish the occasion throughout the contest despite his relative youth, having been "instrumental" in all that was good about the home side, as per The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell.

Although far from perfect – as he lost possession on 14 occasions and only recorded 27 touches – the youngster did produce two key passes as a marker of his ability to bring others into play, having regularly looked to tee up his teammates with a deft flick or clever threaded pass, including laying the ball off for compatriot Christian Eriksen in the second half.

As Manchester Evening News correspondent Samuel Luckhurst noted on Twitter, the £72m man was "almost single-handedly getting the crowd up with his enterprise" after the break, as he embraced the mantle of being the main man through the middle.

There was to be no goal to cap that fine showing, prior to his late withdrawal, yet Hojlund has undoubtedly already endeared himself to the home support with his willing work ethic and composed nature on the ball, with the hope now that the goals do finally begin to flow over the coming weeks and months.

Even if they don't, in the meantime it looks as if United have a centre-forward worthy of the shirt once again, with the days of Wout Weghorst leading the line now but a distant memory…