When Jose Mourinho took over at Old Trafford in May, fans had all but resigned themselves to perpetual disappointment. Having been spoiled for nearly three decades with the brilliance and unparalleled success of Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s fall from the top of the Premier League was both spectacular and almost hard to watch.
Under David Moyes, United became a side that was in a dogfight to avoid mid-table obscurity. By the end of the Christmas period of the 2013/14 season, Moyes’ side were a lowly seventh and showing no signs of recovery.
Replaced by Louis van Gaal mid-season, life at Old Trafford took on a Jekyll and Hyde persona that gave fans glimpses of brilliance but also poor defensive displays that left the Old Trafford faithful fit to pull their hair out.
In his two full seasons in charge, van Gaal failed to stop the rot and United continued to struggle for European football qualification.
At this stage in the 2014/15 season, things looked like this.
For the 2015/16 term, things were worse.
Then came May of 2016. Fresh off the back of an FA Cup title, van Gaal was shown the door and former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho arrived. Fans finally had something to smile about. The wait was over, United would stroll to the title now surely?
However, despite the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba, United began the season as the previous three had gone, with inexplicable losses to ‘inferior’ sides and yet another battle to fend off mid-table embarrassment.
By the time United suffered their humiliating 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in mid-October, Mourinho’s side were seventh and had no chance of European qualification next season.
Since then however, Mourinho, United and the expensive group of players have begun to gel, to find their groove and show all the signs that hope is not lost after all.
In the 16 games that have followed the Chelsea defeat, United are unbeaten in all competitions. In fact, they are now on a six-game winning streak in the Premier League and took maximum points from the crucial Christmas period fixtures.
This emphatic return to form now sees United with their best points tally at this stage of the season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final, title winning, year in charge, 2012/13.
Under Mourinho, Manchester United are firmly back in the hunt for not only Champions League qualification but also the Premier League title race. Still sixth in the table, they are now only three points off third and only a single point behind Arsenal for that final Champions League spot.
The season is still only half way complete and taken on current form, the Red Devils are second only behind Chelsea, who themselves are on a 13 game winning streak and current league leaders.
Next up for United is perhaps their most important game of the campaign to date, a visit from long-time rivals Liverpool on January 15th. A true six-pointer, a victory for United would put them only two points behind the second-placed side. However a loss would cast them eight adrift and once again at risk of losing touch with the top.
Such is the competition of the Premier League in recent seasons. The gap between sides has closed and every fixture within the top half of the table is a veritable six-pointer.
For now, Mourinho has rekindled a winning mentality within the halls of Old Trafford and fans are once again beaming from ear to ear. The most realistic target for this season should be Champions League qualification and if they were to continue as they have done for the past two months, not many would bet against them.
Right now, United are back. However, it will likely take a loss to see just how they have developed mentally since the departure of Ferguson.