Last week was a torrid time for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United. After winning their three opening games, Manchester United suffered three defeats in eight days—a closely contested 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City, a lackluster 1-0 to Feyernood in the Europa League and a lethargic 3-1 defeat to Watford.

It was the Watford game that did the most damage and set off a storm about Mourinho’s team selection and United’s readiness to contest for the title.

The bulk of the controversy centered around one man: Wayne Rooney. Most people argued that Rooney’s was at the root of Manchester United’s bad week. Miguel Delaney argued that Rooney’s inclusion was bad for United because it stifled Pogba’s freedom and left Zlatan with little space to drift in-field.

Delaney said, “Although United won their first three games and were intermittently impressive, you couldn’t say they clicked. The roles of those two main signings weren’t exactly clear either, especially Pogba’s. The French star has so often had to roam around to find the space to express himself, and when Ibrahimović has attempted to drop back in that way that has proven so effective in the past, he has found that area congested. That is because one player is always there, forcing Pogba away from where the record signing is most effective, occupying the same few yards as Ibrahimović. One player is just always there in general, no matter what. Wayne Rooney.”

Delaney was not the only one that criticized Rooney or called for him to be dropped. Among media personalities and football pundits, Phil Neville was one of the few people that stood by Rooney. Another writer from the Independent, where Delaney’s piece appeared, said “evidence” showed that Rooney makes his teammates worse, not better. Jack Pitt-Brooke recommend that United use Marcus Rashford, a quicker player.

Among United’s die-hards, the critiques were more scathing, but there was much more sympathy for Rooney. However, various polls conducted on Twitter showed that United fans wanted Rooney out.

The barrage of criticisms levelled at United and Rooney did not go unanswered by Mourinho. In arguably his angriest press conference yet, Mourinho was quick to lash out at those he called “football Einsteins” after United won 3-1 against Northampton in the English Football League.

“We had a bad week. I know that some football Einsteins, they tried to delete 16 years of my career and delete an unbelievable history of Manchester United Football Club and focus on a bad week and three bad results. But that’s the new football – it’s full of Einsteins.”

Before the Leicester game, although Mourinho said he was not “upset about anything,” he added that the criticisms his players have received “upset him a little.”

Mourinho had more damning things to say about the Einsteins: “The Einsteins need money to live, they can’t coach, they can’t sit on the bench, they can’t win matches, they can speak, they can write, they can criticize the work of other people. But I am a man of good will, I do lots of charity, I help so many people, so why not feed also the Einsteins? That’s fine.”

This weekend Mourinho did what the football Einsteins wanted. He dropped Rooney. He also dropped Fellaini, a player whose inclusion this season polarizes and unites in equal measure.

More importantly, he played Herrera, a man who many supporters feel has been underutilized since he was brought in under van Gaal. He also started Juan Mata, like he did in the opening three games when United were successful. The surprise inclusion was Jesse Lingard.

Against Leicester, United were more dynamic, more fluid. Pogba was free to roam the pitch and dictate the game. He was his boisterous self, taking long-range efforts at goal and conducting passes across the field. The Pogba-Herrera partnership was quick and full of forward movement. The Spaniard did a decent job in a deeper role, but many times United looked vulnerable to a Leicester attack. This will be a worry for Mourinho and a key factor in the longevity of this pairing. The boss has Michael Carrick, a man more suited for the holding role and with better passing abilities than Herrera. Carrick’s only deficiency is his lack of pace, something Mourinho values. Morgan Schneiderlin has not seen much time under Jose, but he is another option to fill the void against better opponents, should United need more defensive cover.

There was noticeably more movement from Ibrahimović. Pogba was voted man of the match. He spent more time in the opposition’s half. Ed Maylon (another Einstein) does a great job showing Pogba’s movement in United’s games prior to Leicester to show how Rooney had stifled the Frenchman’s ability to get forward.

In a sense, the Einsteins were vindicated, but it is too early to tell and too early to get too excited.

Although United managed four goals in the first half, United looked shaky for a large part of the half. Minus Mata’s sumptuous goal, a culmination of sublime one-touches and player movement, United were average. Forget the stats. Three of the four goals came from a corner. That is telling. There were more chances created and shots on target compared to the Watford and City games, but Leicester hardly put up a fight.

United were complacent in the second half and failed to produce many chances.

Mourinho still has work to do in the coming weeks to develop a rhythm and find his best attacking personnel. Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have not been superb this season, but they offer options. Mata has been brilliant, but his recent omissions signal that Mourinho still struggles to trust him. Jesse Lingard had a good game yesterday, but played poorly at City. If United fans were polled, he will not be a favorite to start.

In the midfield, Mourinho still needs to figure out who starts alongside Pogba. At the back, Chris Smalling is forcing his way back closer into the first team after four successive starts. Mourinho has a choice to make about where Blind plays (a holding midfield role is a possibility and so is left back, where he started yesterday) in the coming weeks.

Rooney came on against Leicester, but had little to do. Whether Rooney will be reduced to cameo roles to close off games, or tight games to provide inspiration and magic remains to be seen. With Mourinho’s insistence that Rooney is still his “man,” we know that he and his captain will come under intense scrutiny every time Rooney makes the squad.

In the end, Mourinho has added a new group of people to his long list of enemies and there will be many spats in the coming weeks unless he wins consistently– with or without Rooney.