Sunday’s win over Chelsea was a breath of fresh air.
It had been building through pre-season, yet some dared not believe United could look this good again.
Even if it lasts just one week and we lose to Wolves, for a fleeting moment, hope is back at Manchester United.
False dawns of successful pre-seasons have stung us before. Remember Louis van Gaal?
And we shouldn’t get carried away after one game, as we learned after David Moyes’ convincing opener.
But after a horrendous end to last season, it would be wrong not to savour and enjoy a brief moment where Manchester United look exciting again.
No player defined this more than goalscoring substitute Dan James.
The club’s first summer signing scored on his debut, and its just the start for him.
His United journey is just beginning, and the hope is this is the moment a new United have been reborn too.
The new faces make this different to 2013, when United brought in just Marouane Fellaini.
This summer United have signed Harry Maguire, Dan James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Young, hungry players who want to play for the badge.
It might not be enough, ultimately, but its a step in the right direction.
This 4-0 win over Chelsea felt like the old United, and a staggering improvement on the team which could not beat Huddersfield or Cardiff in the final two matches of the season.
There are reasons to be pessimistic, sure. The midfield looked shaky. Perhaps Chelsea just were not very good, and we rode our luck with the woodwork. But nothing big enough to cast a shadow over a 4-0 victory.
We saw enough to believe that even with a potential Molineux setback incoming, positivity should continue at Old Trafford.
The win saw players like Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial come back to life. Paul Pogba showed glimpses of his quality, and the new signings were all outstanding. Even David de Gea was back on form.
All of this was achieved with the likes of Mason Greenwood, Axel Tuanzebe, Angel Gomes et al kept in reserve.
The transfer window was a frustrating one. We didn’t get entirely what we expected out of it, even though the three additions look fantastic.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his staff have done a good job over the summer and a winning mentality might just be returning.
In the big picture we seem a long way behind our rivals, but with a tightened up defence, perhaps we now are not as far back as last season’s league table showed.
We have seen before how quickly this can disappear, so lets embrace the positivity and be glad that for a brief moment, hope has returned to Manchester United once again.
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