Manchester United comfortably dismantled Hull City 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford on goals from Chris Smalling, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. United looked utterly in control for the entire match, and were good value for the win that keeps them in fourth place. Let's take a look at 5 things we learned from the match...
1.) United should be targeting second place
In a normal year in the Barclays Premier League, a team who drops 17 points from their first 13 matches is likely to be staring up at the top four. However, this is no normal Premier League season and United sit in fourth place with just 22 points from a possible 39. The Reds have now won three matches on the bounce, and with a home tie next weekend against Stoke City followed by a an away fixture at Southampton they have a great chance to head to Anfield having won four of five or maybe even five in a row.
Once they get there, they will face a Liverpool side who are in full-blown crisis mode. They sit in 11th, and like most of United's main rivals for a top four place have started off the season in dreadful form. Arsenal and Spurs have barely looked top half teams let alone top four, and Everton have been sublime going forward but disastrous at the back. They've shown their best form in the Europa League, and it seems as if winning that competition may be their best route into the Champions League next season.
Add into that the fact that Southampton don't have a deep squad, and United suddenly seem as if they could finish third. Then eyes must turn to Manchester City, who look a shadow of their double winning side last term. United sit in fourth place right now, two points behind City and four behind Southampton. Looking at the table, there is no reason why United should not be targeting second place.
2.) Hull need to turn things around quickly
The loss sends Hull into 17th, and they are currently only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. It's surprising given some of the team's performances, particularly against Arsenal, that they are so far down the table. They have quite possibly their strongest ever squad, but after crashing out of the Europa League they haven't played with the same confidence they had at the end of last season.
They were positively dreadful today, and never looked like they were in the game. They've now gone six matches without a win, and in particular the performances from James Chester and Hatem Ben Arfa were horrid. Hull look as if their squad is far too strong to go down, but they will need to turn the performances around as soon as possible to avoid a "squeaky bum time" at the bottom come the end of the season.
3.) Hatem Ben Arfa's career is in jeopardy
Ben Arfa has shown in flashes that he can be one of the most creative attacking forces in the Premier League, but he just doesn't want to defend. In spite of often seeming the only creative force at Newcastle United, Alan Pardew never seemed to fancy him. At all. And it's becoming increasingly apparent why.
Ben Arfa had quite possibly his worst ever performance as a professional today. Words are hard to come by to describe just how bad the Frenchman was during this match, and it really says it all that he was withdrawn after just 35 minutes without an injury.
Ben Arfa was exposed time and again defensively by Antonio Valencia, Angel di Maria and later Ander Herrera. Straight before he was withdrawn, he allowed Valencia a costless run from 45 yards away from goal without tracking back at all. Had he simply made the run back defensively, he would have saved his side from a 2-on-1 at the back that ended with Valencia putting in a costless cross. After a performance as bad as today, it is beginning to look as if his career could be in jeopardy.
4.) Juan Mata should be playing a lot
Mata was instrumental in the victory over Crystal Palace three weeks ago, pulling the strings and ultimately scoring the winning goal. He looked much the same player today, ghosting between the lines with ease and circulating possession all across the pitch.
While the Spaniard has looked a bit suspect in matches against the bigger clubs, he looks loads better against these slightly lesser teams. It is there that he can really make his mark for United, and the role of creative difference maker should be his in the majority of these games. With matches against Stoke and Aston Villa coming up in the next month he will have a great chance to make a difference for United.
5.) Louis van Gaal will have a selection nightmare when everyone is healthy
The Dutchman has an enviable job in picking his team once this team is healthy. He will have Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Radamel Falcao, Angel di Maria, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera all vying for anywhere between three and five places. Di Maria picked up a knock as did Rooney, and although both don't look like they should be out for extended periods of time they might be short of full strength for a while.
However, everyone knows the class that di Maria brings on the ball and Rooney is hitting a purple patch at the moment for both club and country. Both will likely command places in the starting XI, and the rest will have to fight it out. It is likely that both van Persie and Falcao are unlikely to start at the same time, and the Colombian has just regained full fitness. It seemed he would take van Persie's spot given the Dutchman's struggles this season but he scored a superb goal today.
When the terrific play of both Mata and Herrera is factored in, it all boils down to a real selection headache for van Gaal. However, it is a fantastic problem to have. In attack, United have arguably the strongest set-up in the league. Once they are at full strength, this will be quite some team.