Manchester United returned to the top four on Tuesday after a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, but things weren't entirely straightforward for Ralf Rangnick's team at Old Trafford.
After the teams went in all-square at half-time, prompting a timely reminder from the interim boss, second-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes - either side of a red card for Brighton's Lewis Dunk - decided the tie in United's favour.
Back-to-back draws against Burnley and Southampton had threatened to derail United's top-four bid, and more dropped points would have left them facing an uphill battle.
However, as Rangnick himself explained after the game, two crucial tactical changes in the second period were enough for the hosts to gain a narrow edge and claim victory over Graham Potter's stubborn visitors.
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The first of the tweaks came at the start of the second period, with Rangnick pushing for his wingers to pressure the Brighton centre-backs, and there was a clear benefit.
"We told our two wingers to attack the centre-backs so our full-backs could jump to their full-backs," the German explained.
"That paid off with [Anthony] Elanga and the red card. We should have killed off the game much earlier. We were not lethal enough.
"We realised that they had too often possession of the ball and could only intercept in few situations. Should we change to a formation to back three? We decided to stick to 4-2-3-1 with more risk and it paid off.
"In the first 10 minutes of the second half we had more success moments and it raised the crowd, they were not moaning and were getting behind the team."
Brighton responded with tweaks of their own after falling behind, and one of these saw them introduce Tariq Lamptey from the bench.
The right-back had impressed over the weekend, earning an assist in a 2-0 win at Watford, but was introduced in a more advanced role at Old Trafford in place of Leandro Trossard.
Rangnick was wise to the threat of the former Chelsea man, though, and explained his response to the extra threat.
"Their right side with Lamptey was the dangerous side," he said.
"Lamptey played up front, almost like a right winger for 15 minutes, and that's why we decided to bring on Alex Telles to support Luke Shaw on that side."
United moved two points clear of fifth-place West Ham with the victory, though Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham below them all have games in hand.
Next up for Rangnick's team is a trip to Leeds United on Sunday, with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash against Atletico Madrid taking place three days later.
The Red Devils are currently six points adrift of their tally at the corresponding period last season, when they ended up finishing second under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
