COMMENT: Simplicity can be genius. Just ask Paul Ince. After all, he's right - at least to a point - when he talks about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his impact on Manchester United. And nothing best illustrated Ince's claims than the performance of Andreas Pereira on Saturday...

Match of his life? Why not? A screamer to level the scores and an aggressive, driving assist to help United take the lead in their five-goal thriller against Southampton.

This was the game United coaching staff - past, present and returned - were always convinced was inside Pereira. This was the goal they knew he was capable of. And this was a performance from a position both Pereira and those close to him knew he could thrive in.

Solskjaer, like so many of the decisions that have proved correct since his appointment, simply went back to what he knew. What his staff knew. Pereira wasn't a natural No6. He certainly would never fulfil his potential as a wing-back. To give the lad a chance, Solskjaer took him back to what he knew. To why United fought so hard to sign him. Why that flawed genius, Luciano Moggi, was so desperate at the time to take the then PSV Eindhoven teen to Juventus. A creator. A "driver", as Pereira, himself, told local media upon his first call-up to Tite's Brazil squad. Solskjaer kept it simple. And the manager was rewarded by a career best performance on the day.

"We maybe found a better position for him than a no.6, he is more of an 8 or 10. He has got quality in his passing crossing and shooting. A goal and an assist is a nice day for him to remember," said Solskjaer in the aftermath. The Norwegian also putting into words why everyone - from those on the pitch to staff and substitutes in the home dugout - erupted when Pereira hit that wonder goal.

"I am so pleased for him [Andreas]. He has had a couple of bad experiences here and we all know he is an Academy kid. We have seen him over the years, he has got quality."

And it has been years. Saturday was no overnight thing. It's been eight seasons since Pereira first signed for United. Two loan spells in Spain. A multiple of different roles. And now with a contract about to expire. It really didn't look like it was going to happen for him - even after the Tite call.

"At the beginning of the cycle we are here," he said back in September, "it may be that in four years there are different faces in the squad. To stay at the highest level for four years is very difficult."

Especially if you're not getting a game at club level. And when you do, you're played out of position. But then enter Solskjaer - and Mike Phelan. Solskjaer had just left United as Pereira arrived from Holland. But Phelan was still there. He saw how hard United had fought for Pereira's signature. He knew why Sir Alex Ferguson had green lit the deal. There was a player in there. But the five years Phelan had been away from the club - for Pereira - were five years of a nomadic, faltering career.

"I think I'm a midfielder who can play as the first driver, second (driver) or in the 10 shirt," he declared at that media conference in Brazil. "I'll do my best and I'm very happy. I want to conquer this position."

Back at United, pre- Solskjaer, it looked like to fulfill such a goal Pereira would have to move on. Jose Mourinho rated the player, convincing Pereira to stick around this season after publicly chastising him for skipping out to Valencia last term. But he was never going to be the "driver" of Mourinho's midfield. At least not this season. And with a contract winding down, Pereira emerged as a sudden Bosman prospect for Arsenal.

But today? Well, if the manager has any say in it, Pereira will still be a United player next season. When that Arsenal speculation was raised, Solskjaer made it clear Pereira was a required player.

"Andreas has done fantastic in training ever since I've come back. I've kept in touch with Warren [Joyce], who had him in the reserves," said the manager, again calling on past United identities, this time Warren Joyce now working in Australia, for advice.

"I've known about Andreas from before and he's a player that you could see playing quite a few games for us towards the end of the season."

And he's been good to his word. But more than that. By leaning on the likes of Joyce, Phelan and those long-time staff inside Carrington, Solskjaer didn't try to transform Pereira. There was no attempt to rip up eight years of education and try again. He went with what he and the player knew.

And Ince is right. Anyone could've done what Solskjaer has with Pereira. Problem is, from Mourinho to Louis van Gaal and David Moyes, none of them did. Tap Phelan for some advice. Call a Melbourne-based Joyce for his opinion. But as obvious as it may appear now, none of them did.

But Solskjaer has. And he was rewarded. Connections. Club connections. Tried and trusted. There is a genius in that simplicity.