Manchester United relieved some pressure off Ruben Amorim's shoulders on Saturday evening as they defeated Chelsea 2-1 at a soaking wet Old Trafford, picking up a crucial three points
"After five games, playing Arsenal/Manchester City/Chelsea, are we satisfied with seven points?" That was the question posed by Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand after victory over the Blues.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the responses to the tweet were of the opinion that this was not good enough and you can easily see why some may feel this way. If you look at the two victories the Reds have picked up, neither managed to be convincing.
They were let off the hook by Burnley and the Chelsea result will forever have an asterisk considering the away side were down to 10 men so early on. When the two teams had 10 men apiece, the game became a lot more even and, on another day, perhaps Enzo Maresca's side could have picked up a point.
Meanwhile, the defeat to City was a far cry from the performance which Ruben Amorim conjured up last December. At the end of the day, United fans expect their side to be picking up far more than seven points from a possible 15.
On the flip side, those who were satisfied with the points tally so far can point to the victory over Chelsea and use it as evidence of a revival under Amorim.
The Portuguese head coach was doubted more strongly than ever before after the loss to City and he needed his players to give him a reaction.
What we saw in the first half, albeit against ten men, was a team working hard for both the club and their manager. Chelsea could not live with them in the first 45 minutes and, on another day, the result could have been beyond doubt before the half-time whistle.
The narrow defeat to Arsenal showed a glimpse of what United can become under Amorim even if the draw at Fulham left little to get excited about. In short, there really is no wrong answer to Ferdinand's debate.
If you are dissatisfied, you have every right to be as the points tally is lower than United would have expected without the distractions of Europe. If you are satisfied, there is evidence that Amorim can turn this around and the Reds are still in touching distance of the European race.
The real battle for the Reds is ensuring that they build on this victory over Chelsea and take it forward into their next two matches prior to the international break. A trip to Brentford is next before United welcome Sunderland to Old Trafford ahead of the October pause.
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Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
If United are going to be at the right end of the table in May, they need to pick up six points from six. Brentford are not the team they were last season under Thomas Frank while Sunderland are a newly promoted side who have struggled on their travels so far this campaign.
Should United make it three wins on the bounce before their next 'Big Six' test against Liverpool, there will be a lot more positivity surrounding Amorim and the club. Anything less and this pressure that built last week will only intensify.
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