The midfielder came on as a half-time substitute to set up Harry Maguire’s headed winner with a brilliant cross.

Christian Eriksen’s impact was recognised with the man of the match award Credit: Getty

Andre Onana made a heroic last-minute penalty save but Ten Hag reserved praise for the way man of the match Eriksen impacted the game.

He applauded the Dane for his influence and suggested he played a big role in the 1-0 win.

Ten Hag said of the improved second-half performance and Eriksen’s impact: “He was part of it, definitely.

“I think our build-up got fluid, more fluid, once he came in. But we made some adjustments in other positions, in other constructions and cooperations.

“But Christian definitely played a big part in that. His timings were good to get free and on the ball his decision-making was good and the best example was the assist for Harry Maguire’s goal.”

Fans were also full of admiration for Eriksen’s effect on the match with one supporter describing him as a “cheat code”.

Another praised Eriksen saying: “Eriksen👏 I’ve been talking about how much I like his role of impacting games from the bench but with his form it is clear now that he has to start at least one game a week.

“Nobody in the squad has the influence in possession that he does.”

Christian Eriksen made a huge impact in 45 minutes

Eriksen got around the pitch and had a huge influence

Eriksen barely misplaced a pass against the Danish team

A third wrote: “Eriksen is a world class creator. He makes United tick in a way no other player in our team can.”

And another commented: “Eriksen has to start against City. He completely changed the game last night.”

Eriksen covered plenty of ground despite only playing for 45 minutes and was at the heart of everything United did well.

He achieved 90 per cent passing accuracy with 29 passes completed, including his cross for Maguire’s winner.

United icon Paul Scholes also complimented Eriksen’s performance and suggested United looked like a real team with the 31-year-old on the pitch.

He said: “You bring in Christian Eriksen, a much better footballer. I mean no disrespect to Amrabat, he does what he has to do. But he doesn’t build the game.

“Christian Eriksen, yes. You saw the runs that were made. Suddenly Fernandes is in the game. The team looked like a real team again.”