In the end it was the magic of Anthony Martial which led Manchester United to a first win in nine matches. For once, Old Trafford emptied to the sound of applause instead of boos after the 2-1 victory over Swansea City but, if the good will is to remain in the longer term, United have to be a lot better than this.
It was the same old United for long spells against a managerless team playing without a recognised striker. While some will consider the result a step forward given the Red Devils' recent form, as well as their fruitless previous endeavours against Swansea City under Louis van Gaal, there can be no denying that more is needed for this squad to become a true Manchester United team once more.
While Martial netted the first and then blazed the trail which led to Wayne Rooney's winner, United undoubtedly need an injection of something new in the last third.
They again failed to turn their complete dominance of possession into a comfortable lead and were rocked on their heels by Gylfi Sigurdsson's leveller. Even late on, both Ashley Williams and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski had headed attempts which could so easily have seen the Swans leave with a share of the spoils.
Give United's control of general play week after week, results really shouldn't be left on a knife-edge deep into added time. Only twice this season – at home against Sunderland and away to Everton – have United coasted the last 10 minutes of a game with a two-goal lead, yet the possession stats suggest that they have been the dominant force in most fixtures.
Van Gaal admitted in his pre-match press conference on Thursday that a striker would make for a handy addition but there is still more spending to be done beyond the No.9 position. Felipe Anderson is being lined up as one option, while Sadio Mane – who was dropped by Southampton for tardiness on Saturday – has been touted as a target too but United have already seen wingers fail to have a real impact under the Dutchman.
United played with such swashbuckling especially in the first-half that the eventual scoreline of 2-1 looked like an unfair scoreline as Martial, Mata, Young, Schweinsteiger and Wayne Rooney tormented the Swans defense with so much tempo, pace and tactical foreplay that Louis van Gaal will surely be proud followings weeks of rumours of his sack.
Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson was sat in the stands and could be seen smiling as Old Trafford came alive with such an encouraging performance.
Meanwhile WestHam defeated Liverpool 2-0, Arsenal won Newcastle 2-0 while Leicester City and Bournemouth played out a draw. Manchester City defeated Watford 2-1 while Norwich beat Southampton by a lone goal.