A commanding defeat of Everton leaves Manchester United fans once more hopeful that a title charge is on.
And the manner of the win screamed of progress under Louis van Gaal. Manchester United were compact and defensively solid.
But, more encouragingly still, there were signs of a return to the speed of attacking play which was a hallmark of the great Manchester United teams.
Particularly on the left Anthony Martial tore a very quick full-back, Seamus Coleman, to bits.
Martial’s skill set is bewitching.
He has the pace and ball control to flummox the best and, as the game wore on, he got stronger. Manchester United have a very special player indeed.
With the derby at the end of the week Louis van Gaal is going to have to shuffle his pack carefully to keep them fresh for the key moments.
We think that Martial should remain on the left for CSKA with Memphis in a new position on the right flank and Rooney up top.
It’s the formation we wanted to see at the start of the season and we think that it may, ultimately, represent Manchester United’s strongest forward line.
With Herrera pulling the strings at No.10 the offence will have speed and guile.
Rojo and Jones were excellent on their return to first team action but two games in 4 days for the recently injured may be a bit too much. So expect Daley Blind to come back into the fold for this one.
Michael Carrick will probably swap with Bastian Schweinsteiger as the job share looks the safest bet for these two excellent veterans.
So here is our Best XI for a must-win Champions League game.
Manchester United fans: let’s have your XIs
