With an hour played against Leicester City, Manchester United had turned the corner so emphatically that some were already plotting the path straight to the Premier League title.
Having disposed of QPR with a comprehensive 4-0 win the week before, Louis van Gaal’s side had taken a commanding 3-1 lead at the King Power Stadium following Ander Herrera’s clever backheel finish.
What happened next seemed beyond all realms of possibility. Leicester scored four times in just 21 minutes to complete a quite astonishing comeback. Having turned the corner Man Utd proceeded to trip themselves up.
Some chose to draw a comparison with Van Gaal’s predecessor, David Moyes, who must have watched Manchester United’s capitulation at Leicester in smug satisfaction.
At the same stage last season, after five Premier League games, Moyes’ side had taken seven points following games against Swansea, Chelsea, Liverpool and Crystal Palace. Van Gaal’s start of five points from fixtures against Swansea, Sunderland, QPR and Leicester pales in comparison.
But regardless of such a comparison, Van Gaal’s Man Utd side is still better than Moyes’ ever was, even if the 5-3 defeat to Leicester makes it somewhat difficult to see so.
At no point during Moyes’ ill-fated tenure at Old Trafford did he communicate a vision or identity to either the players or the club’s fans. There may have been more organization to his side, but it was stagnant and unimaginative. There was no sign of where United were heading under Moyes.
At least in the two games since the transfer window closed—against QPR and Leicester—United have shown some sort of personality under Van Gaal. The fast and furious attack that made so many of Sir Alex Ferguson’s sides so potent has been restored. There was more for United fans to be positive about in the 150 minutes played against QPR and Leicester than at any stage last season.
Source: Bleacher Report
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