Analysing How Manchester United Are Placed Heading into the Festive Season

Manchester United’s spectacular win over West Ham United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday probably came in the wrong competition.

A 4-1 win on Sunday would have been a huge tonic to the Red Devils’ faltering Premier League campaign. But any 4-1 win is cause for celebration, and any shot at silverware has to be taken seriously by manager Jose Mourinho in his first season in charge.

The fact United opened the scoring so early hinted it would be a comfortable evening, although David De Gea’s spill from a Dimitri Payet shot allowed Ashley Fletcher to tap in a scarcely deserved West Ham equaliser. That knocked the wind out of United’s sails for a while, but whatever Mourinho said or did in the dressing room at half-time absolutely did the trick.

Miss the match last night? Check out the highlights of our 4-1 win. #MUFC https://t.co/xFCD8aRjKG

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 1, 2016

Inspired by particularly excellent performances from Wayne Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Antonio Valencia, United ran rampant. Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic got a brace each, and in both cases—for different reasons—the goals were extremely welcome.

For Ibrahimovic, it means his dry spell is well and truly over. He has five goals and an assist in his last four starts. For Martial, what better pick-me-up could there be for his relative struggles so far this season than taking his chance in the first team with such aplomb?

Point. Made. pic.twitter.com/KgBGQEObki

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) November 30, 2016

It brings his total for the season to four goals and two assists, all four of those goals coming in his last six appearances. There have been games within that spell in which he struggled to make an impact—notably Arsenal at home in the league—but the general trend is promising.

And speaking of promising trends, the recent factor that can arguably bring the most significant change to bear on the rest of United’s season is the re-emergence of Mkhitaryan.

The best player in Germany last season, the Armenian has either struggled to adapt to his new surroundings or struggled to convince Mourinho he has adapted to his new surroundings.

#postivevibes #EFLCup semi-finals calling