Red Alert With Steve Shanyaski

A couple of weeks ago, I said in this column, “A few back-to-back wins from United could quite quickly put us back in the mixer”.

Leicester were sat top, and City were ahead of us in the table. Well, I got my wish. After grinding out a win against West Brom, a blistering 4-1 victory against Istanbul, and an emotional journey and win against Southampton, the United squad and manager have shown great character and resilience.

We are heading back up the table with a game in hand, and City are behind us in the league. United were inspiring to watch on Sunday. In recent months, and in the wrong hands, we would have lost that game against Southampton after going 2-nil down at half time. Enormous praise and thanks must go to all our most recent signings. Bruno for swinging the balance back toward united with his 60th minute goal, and Cavani for his experience showing everyone on and off the pitch that he still is capable of game winning performances. When we signed Cavani in the final minutes of the transfer window, we were all a little perplexed as to what use he might be, but his ability to find space in the box that isn’t there is incredible. For the money Cavani is earning, the amount of education he can offer Rashford, Martial and Greenwood is worth every penny. He already has a telepathic connection with Bruno, who must have studied his ability to find space, because Bruno puts balls into the box for him and Cavani is already heading to that zone.

I watched Donny Van De Beek like a hawk on Sunday as well, because after my complaining about Solskjaer not picking him when he should be an essential start I needed to make sure. He was brilliant. He intercepted a run in the first few minutes that would have put Southampton in on goal and that seemed to set him up for the afternoon. Every pass had meaning, every tackle was perfect. Sounding like an obsessed superfan, he could do no wrong in my eyes.

Another new signing Alex Telles is looking like he’s fitting in perfectly in left back, and his crossing is sublime. Although he did limp off the pitch on the 84th minute, so we need to hope he’s ok for the next game. Everything is heading in the right direction for the United squad, and on Wednesday we face PSG at Old Trafford for the Champions League. We’ve put ourselves in such a great position that we only need a draw in either PSG or Leipzig to get into the ECL knockouts. Sounds simple, but of course it isn’t because both European teams are quite capable of looking after themselves. PSG must worry about facing us after our last two matchups with them, but with Mbappe and Neymar upfront we will also have concerns about their pace and skill.

Di Maria will have his first game at Old Trafford without the fans there to boo him throughout the match too. It’s all coming together at the right time for United though, and the match against Southampton at the weekend felt like we were watching the United of old where no team is ever safe until the final whistle goes. We deserved that win against Southampton, and Cavani facing his old teammates from PSG will surely galvanise him to put in another game winning performance. Then we face West Ham at the weekend which gives me even more confidence that we will come to the United – City derby game ahead of them on points. Exciting weeks lie ahead.