Between questions about whether or not Romelu Lukaku should have taken a penalty against Benfica at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, Jose Mourinho said something telling when asked about the importance of finishing top of Group A.

"The last time Manchester United were in the Champions League, they finished third and went out," he said. "So it would be nice to get 18 points and we will try."

It was a reference to a European campaign under Louis van Gaal in 2015-16, when United won just two of their six games and were denied a place in the knockout rounds by Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven. It was a campaign that encapsulated almost everything about the post-Sir Alex Ferguson lull: Too many poor performances, too many bad results and eliminated before the serious stuff got going.

It even had an element of farce, with Van Gaal resurrecting Nick Powell to throw him on at the crucial moment in the final game against Wolfsburg. As such, you can see why Mourinho felt the need for a reminder, especially as his team are second in England and on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League.

United have scored more goals -- 23 -- in the Premier League than Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal and conceded fewer -- four -- than anyone else. They have not conceded a league goal at Old Trafford since April and the win over Benfica was their 37th consecutive home game without defeat, a run stretching back to September 2016. Only once have United enjoyed a longer run in the Premier League era.

All things considered, there is not an awful lot wrong. Granted, there were a few grumbles about the goalless draw at Anfield on Oct. 14, but only because there was a perception that Liverpool were there for the taking.

Gary Neville recently told ESPN FC that Sir Alex Ferguson would have never have been disappointed leaving Anfield with a point so early in the season and it wasn't so long ago that Liverpool thumped United 3-0 at Old Trafford and fans in the away section held up a banner that read: "David Moyes is a football genius."

Jose Mourinho has come in for criticism but he has Manchester United challenging on all fronts. Athena Pictures/Getty Images

Meanwhile, United are title challengers for the first time since Ferguson retired. Since lifting the last of his 13 titles in 2013, they have finished seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth as the league has become more competitive.

The big four has become the top six. It means there are 10 games a season against direct rivals; almost a third of the season made up of tight, cagey games like the one at Anfield, or Tottenham's visit to Old Trafford last Saturday. Mourinho has made a career out of winning that type of match and has another one on Sunday at Chelsea.

Once again, he will do things his way because the method has been successful so many times before. As Neville put it on Sky's Monday Night Football in the UK this week: "I think, at the moment, Manchester United need a cold, hard winner." League titles in four different countries and two Champions League titles suggests they have one.

Mourinho's teams win titles -- particularly in his second year -- and regularly reach the final stages of the Champions League. There is an expectation that, because it's him and because it's United, this season will be the same.

That is why his reference to that European horror show in 2015 is so timely; it might have struck him as quite amusing that he was being quizzed about the possibility of winning 18 points in a group just two years after United mustered eight against Wolfsburg, PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow.

Meanwhile, Ferguson only won one of his last six games at Anfield. And the less said about Moyes' record in big games away from home, the better.

Even with a miserable defeat at Huddersfield, United's start to the season is among the best Ferguson could ever boast and, held against the four seasons since his retirement, it is even better.

In the press conference suite at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, Mourinho made his point with a nod to one of the lowest moments of United's recent past. A quick glance at the Premier League and Champions League standings would have worked just as well.