Well, I think it’s safe to say that no one saw this coming two short Premier League matches ago. Somehow Manchester United not only now find themselves top of the league but they also have a newfound swagger that has quashed the naysayers following the chaotic end to the transfer window.

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How has it come to this though? Well, to properly contextualise Manchester United’s sudden ascent to the summit of the Premier League we have to go all the way back to the weekend of the 19th and 20th September, when Manchester United not only trailed Manchester City by five points, but also by a chasm of quality.

City’s play had been glistening with skill, discipline, and conviction from the first whistle they heard at the Hawthorns, and they looked hell-bent on righting the variety of wrongs from last season that saw them pitifully attempt to defend their Premier League title.

Then West Ham United visited the Etihad, and did want West Ham United apparently do this season at tricky away grounds by staunchly, but still impressively, carving out a victory.

Alongside a defeat for Arsenal against stuttering Chelsea and another Liverpool draw, United suddenly had the chance to tease that they could be City’s main title rivals.

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But they had to travel to Southampton, an encounter that they’ve famously struggled with in the past. That was against far inferior Southampton teams too. What was first started by Nigel Adkins, and has since been improved upon by Mauretto Pochettino, before being solidified even more under Ronald Koeman, has resulted in a very impressive Southampton team.

And for the first 30 minutes against Manchester United Southampton ran them ragged, especially down the left-hand side where Luke Shaw’s absence had left Louis Van Gaal’s side looking very shaky. Southampton soon had a one goal advantage, and United couldn’t get into the game, and didn’t look as if they were going to.

But then United did something that they’ve not been too great at in recent months. They turned a bad performance into a good one.

First, they found a goal through their new boy-wonder Anthony Martial, who wonderfully added a second before the ever-reliable Juan Mata scored a third. United ran out 3-2 winners. Then Manchester City not only lost 4-1 away at Tottenham, but their team looked at sea without Kompany, Hart, Mangala, and Silva out.

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