Paddy McNair is a player – Lukaku didn’t give one of his best performances but that was partly down to excellent work by Paddy McNair. For the second week running he proved that successful defending is as much about positional sense, reading of the game and technique as it is about raw power. He’s gangly and fawn-like, but he rarely put a foot out of place against a really good side. Remarkable.
Some of the grit is back – Too often last season Manchester United had a soft underbelly. They simply collapsed on occasion. This team is most certainly still a work in progress and allows far too much pressure onto the defence. But another battling performance, where any type victory was crucial, bodes well for the future.
Manchester United are wonderful – for half an hour – It’s an improvement on previous weeks but Manchester United have still yet to give anything close to a 90 minute performance. They played well for the first half hour. But it was all hands to the deck for the last 20-30 and United need far better control of the ball and of the game if they want to win silverware.
Welcome to the new goal machine – it’s hard to imagine Radamel Falcao not going on a scoring spree now that he’s broken his duck. It was easily his best performance for Manchester United. He’s getting much sharper and was everywhere for United on Saturday. This guy can break records.
Beat Chelsea, start dreaming – United are still miles away from the complete side. But a win against West Brom and then Chelsea at home and the confidence will surge. With United already up to fourth things are looking positive again.
Manchester United fans: How far can United go this season?
