Jose Mourinho is on course to steer his Manchester United side toward a club record winning streak.
His side clocked up their ninth successive victory as they took care of Hull City 2-0 in the first-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final – but just how impressive is this current run of form?
The numbers suggest they’re on track to rival one of the best United sides ever – Sir Alex Ferguson’s 2009 squad achieved eleven straight wins en route to the club’s 18th league title.
The question, however, still remains; is beating a crop of teams outside the top half of the Premier League really that impressive?
There’s no denying that picking up points against lesser-ranked opponents is crucial to any top team vying for the title, but so is taking points off those you’re competing with.
A 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal, who we all know don’t travel well to big teams, was arguably their best performance of the season against a title contender.
They took another point in their 0-0 stalemate against Liverpool at Anfield, where it was clear Mourinho had no intention of stealing a win against their old foes and had the hands of David de Gea to thank for their clean sheet.
A 4-0 mauling on Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge exemplified just how far off the face this team was from the now league leaders – even more, insulting to the Portuguese manager’s evening was the fact is was done by the squad he failed to properly manage 12 months earlier.
A 2-1 loss in the Manchester Derby in front of their home crowd proved another reminder that not only are they a far cry from being the best in the land, they’re still well off being the best team in their city.
Their 1-0 win over Tottenham provided some hope that this side may yet be able to compete with the league’s top teams, and it came at a time when Mourinho had already had “sufficient time” to implement his playing style on the team.
After struggling to stamp their authority on the league against those around them they’ve since gone on to dispose of powerhouses Zorya Luhansk, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Reading, West Brom, West Ham and now Hull.
Routine wins against teams struggling for any consistency themselves, and even then they were far from convincing throughout this past month.
With the calibre of players at their disposal, there is no denying Mourinho will have them competing on all fronts for the remainder of the season.
They’ll be difficult to break down and will score goals as long as Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains on the field. But do they deserve to be mentioned alongside the teams led by Sir Alex Ferguson?
Absolutely not.
They’re a far cry from the squads that came before them and remain some way off being genuine title contenders.
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