Did the Manchester United of old show up against West Ham?

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Over the years, Sir Alex has built a legacy at Manchester United that seems impossible to beat given the circumstances of late.  His teams swept aside the domestic competition, winning almost every trophy on offer all whilst playing fast-paced attacking football.

A regular feature of his teams would be fluid movement of the ball from defence to attack, and from one wing to another. A typical Manchester United attack would start as a pass from a defender to a midfielder, who then would look up for wingers making runs along the by-lines; produce a breathtaking 50-yard pass setting the wingers free, who would then cross the ball into the box for a striker to pounce and convert. All the units aligned with such perfection, almost as though we’re watching a masterpiece unfold in front of our eyes, stuff that dreams are made of. Football of the highest order, played at the Theater of Dreams.

A Sir Alex Ferguson team would not rest on their laurels if they had a 2-goal lead, instead, he would demand attacking football right till the very end.
David Moyes looked to introduce an extra defensive midfielder when 2 goals up whereas Louis van Gaal would take a 2-0 win any given day of the week as long as it got him his win. Jose Mourinho of last season would also settle for a 2-0 win, so what has really changed?

The dominance exhibited by this United side on the night almost shellshocked the West Ham side into submission. They looked toothless in attack, lacked coordination in midfield and were all over the place at the back; sounds similar to Manchester United post Sir Alex, doesn’t it?

The free-flowing football chiselled an exciting atmosphere at Old Trafford, as every forward pass was cheered with enthusiasm, every piece of skill left the audience in awe, every goal led to an eruption in the stands; it was just like the old days!

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Manchester United managed to beat QPR 4-0 on the opening day of 2014/15. The difference? Manchester United played an out of sorts QPR, who looked destined for the drop; but this time around they played a new-look West Ham United who had considerable firepower within their ranks. Yes, they will need time to mould and form a formidable unit; but for a club that lacked inspiration and ambition at home for the entirety of 2015/16, Manchester United were there for the taking.

For the two record signings who were trolled on the internet for their dabbing, they were under immense pressure to perform and shut their critics up for a while. For Jose Mourinho, the pressure of his second season syndrome was there for everyone to see. But boy, didn’t they do well?

While we cannot definitively say Manchester United were back to their old tricks, its surely a sign of better things to come.

Read: 3 battles that will decide the London derby.