Winning whilst not playing well is a habit that you don’t necessarily strive for, but one that you’re more than willing to put up with should it arrive.

As Manchester United’s recovery from the aberration of last season continued apace with the highly fortunate 2-1 win over Southampton on Monday, a thought occurred in many onlookers which would have scared United’s rivals. “What happens when they actually start functioning?”

The vast sum of the parts in Louis van Gaal’s new-look machine is still greater than the machine itself, but by embarking on the biggest spending spree the Premier League has ever seen, United have been able to ensure that their fans forget all about a 2013/14 which never really got started for David Moyes.

They’re now third, five points behind a Manchester City side who have just lost Sergio Aguero for the busy Christmas period and eight back from Chelsea, who now have to react to their first loss of the league campaign. Dare we suggest a title challenge is possible?

That would be running before United have shown that they can walk properly, of course, but with a couple of clever January additions they could at least have an outside shot. One of those will have to be a defender, whilst the other could be Wesley Sneijder.

A name long linked with a switch to Old Trafford—most recently by Alex Harris in the Daily Star—now would surely be the most sensible time for the 30-year-old to make the move given the presence of both Van Gaal and Robin van Persie, as no one can really be sure how long either man will be at the club for.

By signing Sneijder, Van Gaal could add another element of his successful Dutch World Cup squad to his United revolution, whilst rotating a midfield which is at best a varying success story right now.

Michael Carrick might look good in a home victory over Hull City, but you have to question whether or not his ageing legs can cut it at the highest level any more. Marouane Fellaini is an enigma, Ander Herrera is still adjusting and Daley Blind is injured.

Between the four of them, Blind is the best equipped to play the deep-lying midfield role, but there is still hope that Fellaini can be educated on it. Basically, he just needs to be locked in a darkened room with DVDs of Nemanja Matic.

If those two compete for that position, then it opens up a bit of space ahead of them. Angel Di Maria has to play when fit, of course, but he could take his place at the head of a midfield diamond with Herrera and Sneijder sparkling either side of it. That then leaves Wayne Rooney and Van Persie in attack.

Juan Mata, Radamel Falcao, Darren Fletcher, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Adnan Januzaj won’t like reading that, of course, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Falcao looks like damaged goods anyway, Valencia is a decent right-back these days and Januzaj could benefit from going on loan.

Key to all of this is Sneijder, clearly, but the Dutchman will surely be receptive to an approach from United as he perhaps seeks a new challenge and a move away from current club Galatasaray.

The Red Devils would be another stellar addition to a CV which includes Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, over 100 Dutch caps and the Champions League, and he’d add another dash of star quality to a squad desperate to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City on that front.

There are negatives, obviously. The money involved, the fact that Sneijder is on the wrong side of 30 and that he’s not the player who was arguably the best performer at the 2010 World Cup any more, but if United are ever going to sign him, you suspect that it might well come in the next few weeks.

A bit of control, short passing and top-level experience is exactly what their midfield needs at the moment, and Van Gaal must surely know that.

The defence remains the key problem, but sign Sneijder and the United boss might find that the ugly wins become less of the norm and the impressive victories start flowing.

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On Wednesday night, Paris Saint-Germain takes on Barcelona at the Camp Nou with top spot in Group F up for grabs. Zlatan Ibrahimovic—after missing the first game in Paris—will take on Lionel Messi in a winner-takes-all battle.

Lionel Messi is the current all-time leading scorer in Champions League history after he recently passed Spanish legend Raul. The Argentine has 74 goals, Raul finished on 71, and now the next few years will be consumed with the back-and-forth contest between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the honour of being the competition’s top scorer.

Ronaldo, like Raul, has scored 71 times, but where does Ibrahimovic rank amongst the greats? How does the Swedish talisman fare against Lionel Messi when we break down the UEFA Champions League stats before the stars face off on Wednesday?

When it comes to goals, it’s hard for anyone to catch Messi at the moment. Ronaldo is three goals behind, with Ibrahimovic a mere 31 goals behind at the moment. At 33 years old, the Swedish is six years Messi’s elder, so there is little to no chance that he would be able to catch the little Argentine.

On his way to scoring his 74 goals, Messi has scored five hat-tricks in the Champions League, more than anyone else has managed. Ibrahimovic has only scored the one treble, although not to be outdone he scored four. Playing against Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium, it may be his only hat-trick, but it was one to remember.

All of Messi’s goals in the Champions League have come for Barcelona, scoring his 74 goals in just 91 games. In contrast, and perhaps impressively, Ibrahimovic’s goals have come for six different clubs.

No matter where he has played, he has scored goals in this competition, instantly turning whatever club he signs for into a Champions League contender. He scored six times for both Ajax and Inter Milan, his fewest return came for Juventus where he only scored three.

For Barcelona he managed just four goals, then at AC Milan he scored nine, but it has been at PSG that he has had his best return. His goal against APOEL Nicosia was his 14th for the club.

For both these players, it’s not just the ability to score goals that makes them special; they also bring a creative side to their team. Ryan Giggs leads everyone with 30 assists in the competition, but next on the all-time list is the Swedish forward with 19 assists, it is one of the few categories that he beats Messi in, but not by much.

Not to be outdone, Messi is only one behind on 18 assists, with time on his side; you would bank on the 27-year-old to overtake the Swede in this category too.

With top spot in Group F up for grabs, both sides will need players with nerves of steel, and if the referee awards a penalty, each side has one of the best at scoring from the spot.

Both Ibrahimovic and Messi have only missed one penalty in the Champions League. The Argentine has scored nine from 10 attempts, with Zlatan scoring five out of his six.

Each team will want to make sure they win on Wednesday. Coming top of the group not only means you will play one of the seven sides that finish second, but you also play the second leg at home, giving you a crucial advantage.

Messi does edge Ibrahimovic in most categories and the winger will hope to edge past the Swede once again this week, but there is one stat in which Messi will always beat Ibrahimovic, and it’s the one that means the most for any player.

Ibrahimovic has yet to win the UEFA Champions League, Messi has three titles, and perhaps if Zlatan wants to finally lift the famous trophy this season, he needs to get one over Messi when they face off on Wednesday night.

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