The pace at which Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is imposing his philosophy on his team is taking everyone by surprise.
Ten Hag took over the United reins in the summer but made a shocking start to the season, losing the opening game 1-2 to Brighton at Old Trafford and then being beaten 4-0 by Brentford in London.
But progress since then has been steady and the Red Devils will already find themselves in the top four if they win today’s draw at home with West Ham.
Statistics posted online by Sky and reproduced by @UtdPlug tell the story of how much improvement has been made.
It speaks for itself ????♂️ pic.twitter.com/7RRsz6JVG7
— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) October 27, 2022
It shows that in the first four games of the PL season, United ranked 12th in the league in terms of possession, passes in the final third and shots on goal.
They now rank fourth, second, and second, respectively, in those key metrics.
Total shots have improved from 16th to second with the most dramatic improvement coming in possession gained in the final third, rising from 18th in the league to second.
Overall average improvement for selected stats is from 14th to 2nd best in the Premier League.
What is even more impressive is that the quality of the opposition in the last four matches is arguably much stronger than in the first four.
Matches against Everton, Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea produced the super statistics, while the bad ones were recorded against Brighton, Brentford, Liverpool and Southampton.
Another reason for fans to be excited is that these results came in a period that saw a number of injuries and absences, including Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Donny van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams and Christian Eriksen. (two games).
United hope to keep the momentum going and finish the run-up to the World Cup in a strong position.
After today’s game, winnable games against Aston Villa and Fulham mean that nine points from three are not impossible, which would leave the Red Devils well installed in the top four.
Teams above them will drop points during that period, with Chelsea set to play Arsenal and Newcastle. 
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