Manchester United look ready to impose themselves again

It’s not just Paul Pogba who’s back at Manchester United. In their opening Premier League fixture against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, there were resurgent performances from some of United’s key players, and the team showed that they are in a position from which to challenge for a place at the top of the game again.

Take a bow Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian was operating from the right back position with all the surging intent and the threat of danger that made him a favourite among United supporters when he first arrived at Old Trafford in 2009. Back then he was a winger, now he’s in the back four, but the instinct, confidence and strength to power into the final third, take on his man, and get the ball in to the strikers are all back in abundance.

On the other side of defence is Luke Shaw. After almost a full season out recovering from a terrible double leg fracture sustained in the Champion’s League last September, Shaw is in the starting XI again, and it’s immediately clear why he was first brought in by United in 2014. Like Valencia, Shaw boasts power and aggression, and puts fear into the opposition as he initiates attacking moves from the left back slot.

Also retaking their rightful positions at United: Authority, threat, and aggression.

retaking their rightful positions at United: Authority, threat, and aggression

The closing match of last season was a poorly attended, rescheduled match between these two same teams, in which, despite winning, United confirmed their absence from the Champion’s League by registering a goal difference inferior to Manchester City’s by 16 goals. The squad finished the season with their lowest return in front of goal since 89/90- a mere 49 goals, and the atmosphere around the club seemed flat and resigned.

The contrast with the opening game this season couldn’t be stronger. Amid the optimism, razzmatazz, big names and nervy hype, United managed to pull out a show of real intent and obvious quality. While far from perfect, particularly during the first half, the team grew into extended periods of coherence and control. They kept it together at the back, increasingly controlled the midfield, and had the presence of mind to know when to initiate the attacking moves that were so conspicuously absent last season.

Something else United have lacked in recent seasons is that lightning rod presence on the field who galvanizes the team and the supporters, and instills an aura of intimidation. With Ibrahimovic taking to the field, United’s presence and cachet is returning too. The veteran Swede is the kind of player who can make the opposition doubt themselves, while raising the performances of his teammates.

With his goal from 30 yards out in the second half, he demonstrated that his ability to pull out something special when you’re not expecting it remains undiminished.

As he said in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the match:

“I don’t turn down a challenge. Make Manchester United shine again, that’s what it’s all about.”

And let’s not forget central defence, where Bailly received a MOTM award on his league debut, and Blind again performed with distinction, raising the possibility that one of last season’s better performers, Chris Smalling, has serious competition for a starting slot on the matchday team sheet.

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There are a lot of positives and a sense of the real United returning. And all without the suspended £93million star signing Paul Pogba. The players perhaps most in doubt of a guaranteed starting place- Fellaini, Herrera, Mata- all had productive games, and it’s genuinely exciting to contemplate just how high this squad could ascend as they groove into a well-drilled unit under Jose Mourinho. When Pogba is integrated into midfield we can expect the team to be taking control of matches from the first whistle, and if that happens United could really be onto something.