Saturday’s 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion saw Manchester United fans in more familiar voice than they had been in the near-mutinous atmosphere on Tuesday evening against CSKA Moscow.

There was barely an outing for the “attack-attack-attack!” refrain that has been so familiar of late. In spite of Tony Pulis’ sides best efforts to prevent United from doing so, they did indeed attack and by the end of the game were certainly worth their 2-0 lead.

The opening goal had been an emotional one—a first senior competitive goal for a player who has been at United for long enough to have had training from Cristiano Ronaldo when the superstar still had long streaks of blonde highlights in his hair.

Jesse Lingard’s opener was a peach too, beautifully curled in from the edge of the area—an area of the pitch from which United had appeared reluctant to shoot.

Anthony Martial was involved in the buildup, as he was in winning the penalty that Juan Mata used to put a shine on the scoreline.

Admittedly, United’s attacking unit once again failed to create many standout chances before Lingard’s goal. After the game, Pulis rued Claudio Yacob’s positioning and a Chris Brunt header, which he felt was instrumental in allowing the youngster to score.

Of course, the positive take on the football Louis van Gaal’s side is playing is it requires the opposition to be at their defensive best for long stretches of the game. United repeatedly probed West Brom, looking for weaknesses. Eventually, as against most sides this season, especially at home, United found a way to make the breakthrough.

Van Gaal said after the game that United’s back-to-back wins over teams that set out to play with 10 men behind the ball may cause a rethink in terms of the way opponents approach their visits to Old Trafford. He suggested United had sent a message of “OK, you can do that” but United would find a way through.

That may be true, but the lack of entertainment value remains an issue.

In truth, Van Gaal has some justification when he puts part of the lack of that entertainment value down to the tendency of opposition coaches to set their side up to defend deep, cede possession and hit on the counter.

It is the model Jose Mourinho developed at Inter Milan as a means to thwart Pep Guardiola’s superlative-defying Barcelona side. United are nowhere near that level, but Mourinho deployed the same tactic when Van Gaal’s side visited Stamford Bridge in April last season.

Chelsea won that game 1-0, and United have faced an awful lot of nine- or 10-man defences since.

So far this season, Newcastle United, Sunderland, CSKA Moscow and even Manchester City have chosen a similar approach to try and get points out of Old Trafford. Perhaps Van Gaal will be proved correct and coaches will seek a different approach now United have shown the capacity to break through.

The manager must hope that is the case. He can get just about get away with fans being less than enthralled by the football on show while the side is winning. Another long dry spell in front of goal will surely lead to further vocal frustration.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Van Gaal was full of praise for United’s fans, saying he had never known a group like them. He did, however, suggest they had been influenced by Paul Scholes and the media reporting on Scholes’ comments when it came to their cries for attack.

There may be some truth in that, but Van Gaal should be careful. It is hard not to think that if Scholes comments had an influence, it was because it struck a chord with what fans were feeling.

There was entertainment on show against West Brom if you were looking hard enough. The two goals were the most exciting moments of the game, although there were plenty of individual skills demonstrated by United’s talented players.

One such moment was Martial’s brilliantly deft header knocked into the path of Juan Mata. Another was Wayne Rooney‘s flick to Mata in the first half before the Spaniard curled the subsequent chance wide. Chris Smalling was once again imperious, and his performances continue to be a highlight.

However, the overall effect of the spectacle certainly relied upon the goals to satisfy United fans. If the goals keep coming, the style will just about be forgiven. But in terms of fan contentment, Van Gaal and his brand of possession football are on a short leash.

Van Gaal might be hoping the CSKA and WBA games send a message to other coaches so they turn up to attack. However, it is a game of fine margins—CSKA had a great chance with the game at 0-0. Saido Berahino missed a superb chance for WBA when the Baggies were trailing 1-0. Perhaps coaches will look at those moments and back their team to do better.

The likelihood is there will be more long afternoons and evenings ahead at Old Trafford and that the Red Devils will continue to have to find their way through plenty of deep-lying defences. Fans will likely have to rely on moments like Lingard’s opener to find enjoyment in what is proving to be a challenging season.

 

All quotations obtained firsthand.

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