Those four wins in five have come against Brentford, Sheffield United, Fulham and Luton and all by one-goal margins. The defeats to Manchester City, Newcastle in the League Cup and Copenhagen in the Champions League have been more significant.
The injury list is also starting to grow again. Nearly 20 first-team players have suffered setbacks since the start of pre-season, with Christian Eriksen the latest to succumb to a problem.
He could be out for a month while Rasmus Hojlund nurses a muscle strain that should repair by the end of November. Uniteds first game back is against Everton at Goodison Park on November 26 and Erik ten Hag will hope he recovers in time.
Hojlund is the clubs top scorer with five goals, all of which have come in the Champions League. However, he is yet to break his duck in the Premier League after nine matches.
If we just look at the stats, we could surmise that Hojlund is halfway to Wout Weghorsts record of failing to score in 17 league games during his United loan last season. But in reality, Hojlund is offering way more.
The first obvious point is that he surpassed Weghorsts overall two-goal tally after just seven outings and six starts – and in 24 fewer matches. Furthermore, he is offering United hope.
The Danes forthright play, positioning and power has perhaps only been the most consistent thing at United this season. He has every right to be irked by the fact United have lost every game he has scored in so far.
That said, his Premier League barren run does need to be addressed. Its not all his fault. Even Weghorst had decent service, but Hojlund is hardly getting support, quite frankly.
When United have worked the ball well, he has scored – albeit will feel he should have netted when he could only prod against Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski from close range on Saturday.
Such misses are turning up the heat on Ten Hag, with another defender having to come through to save the day against Luton. This time it was Victor Lindelof. Raphael Varane (vs Wolves), Diogo Dalot (Sheffield United) and Harry Maguire (Copenhagen) are the others.
Hojlund will, and should, be given time to settle in given that he wont turn 21 until February and has arrived into a side that is being stretched to its limit with injury and inconsistency. But people will soon start assessing his 72m price tag, rightly or wrongly.
Of course, that is not his problem nor perhaps his concern but United shelled out so much because they felt Hojlund is the striker who can score the important goals.
Just 28.6 per cent of his shots so far have been on target which equates to less than one per Premier League game. He is also averaging just two shots a game, which bluntly points to the lack of service issue and some of that blame lies with Ten Hag.
However, Hojlund will be expected to deliver when opportunities arise and just four of his 14 shots have been on target, with his average shot distance 12 yards. So stats can offer some insight at least, if not the full picture.
