These are strange times at Old Trafford. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s 25% investment in Manchester United has been endorsed by the Premier League. They have won their last four games in all competitions and have not lost this year. They have a forward line that is young and dynamic and that, while you wouldn’t yet trust it not to spin out of control, with the nuts and bolts falling away until it finally collapses into a heap of shattered potential, it is starting to look like seem like it can be extremely effective. Are things finally starting to go well for United?
Everything is relative of course. It feels like every detail has a caveat; everything remains open to multiple interpretations. With the top five likely (but not guaranteed) to qualify for next season’s Champions League, United are still sixth in the Premier League but are at least four points ahead of Newcastle in seventh. They are eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth place, but the gap would have been wider had Scott McTominay not scored an 86th-minute winner at Villa Park last Sunday. Two weeks ago they conceded three goals in the last twenty minutes at Wolves, but at least they won 4-3.
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No one can claim that a corner has been irrevocably turned. United’s goal difference is 0, worse than eight other teams going into this weekend. It’s perfectly reasonable to wonder whether what’s happening isn’t similar to last season, when a string of narrow wins, many of them late, perhaps gave an overly positive impression of United’s form. Arsenal’s demolition of West Ham put United’s 3-0 home win over them last week into perspective. And even Newport County made life difficult for them in the FA Cup.
So let’s not draw any hard conclusions. But what is true is that United have scored 17 goals in their six games in all competitions this year, and Rasmus Højlund has scored in each of his last five games. After the misery of the 2-0 defeat at the London Stadium two days before Christmas, one of the most tasteless and joyless performances from a notionally elite club in the history of England’s top flight, the transformation has been remarkable – even if it has led to an uncomfortable openness in the back. Something similar happened in the Champions League this season, where United’s diabolical spendthrifts seemed a completely different team to the worn-out fidgeters of the weekend, like a dour husband acting out on business trips.
It could be that this period at the end of the season resembles a false dawn, a run of decent results in which United’s shortcomings remained all too apparent. But this may be seen as the moment when the revival began, when Erik ten Hag’s side showed the heart and courage to overcome their shortcomings and actually start winning games; the emotional impact of Ratcliffe’s takeover before the real – and difficult – business of rebuilding the club begins.
But whatever happens in the next three months, it is true that a party that seemed to lose its way at the first sign of struggle has at least temporarily found a new resilience. They may do crazy things and leak unnecessary objectives into games they seem to have mastered, but they are currently finding ways to overcome that.
And if this really is the moment of a tentative rebirth, then it is the forward line that probably offers the most hope. Marcus Rashford, the oldest of the three at 26, has been terribly confused at times this season but there should be no doubt whatsoever about his quality. Alejandro Garnacho, while capable of brilliance, remains unpredictable – quite enough for a 19-year-old – but, fortunately for United, seems quite capable of playing on the right even if his preference were to be on the left, leaving Rashford to to operate on his favorite flank. Højlund, who was at risk of being crushed by the responsibility, has since started taking risks with the casual ease of a striker who now plays with confidence. His goal against West Ham, in which he created space on the edge of the penalty area and drilled the ball into the bottom corner, showed no-nonsense ruthlessness, while his calm, side-footed volley against Aston Villa suggested a predatory sharpness inside the six-yard box.
Perhaps he was lucky, but if he really aimed between Emi Martínez’s legs – and from that distance it seems possible – it was the finish of an instinctive poacher. If he has both elements in his game, he could be a very dangerous striker indeed. A conversion rate of 19% is exceptional (11% is around standard) and suggests that his lack of goals earlier in the season was less down to him than the service he received.
The Danish striker’s relationship with Rashford and Garnacho seems crucial. United have played the front three, from right to left, of Garnacho, Højlund and Rashford, seven times this season and won all seven. It’s true they played together in the 4-3 Champions League defeat to Copenhagen – but not only did Rashford start that match on the right with Garnacho on the left, he was sent off after 42 minutes with United 2-0 up.
The three have a combined age of 66 years. They have all had mixed careers so far. But there is a balance when they play together, a sense of mutual improvement. Ten Hag must find a way to restore solidity without compromising their attacking freedom too much – and Rashford and Garnacho have been criticized for not fulfilling their defensive duties. A lot can still go wrong, nothing is guaranteed. But Ratcliffe’s arrival is the beginning of a new chapter, and new pages usually mean hope for news.
This may not be the attacking line anyone at United had planned – if they had, there would be no need to spend £160m on Antony and Jadon Sancho, and it would certainly have been used before – but it is the ones they have. and for now it seems to be working. And it’s been a while since you could say that about anything at Old Trafford.