Appointing Erik ten Hag is the best decision Manchester United have made in 10 years

It needn't have been this difficult. Had Sir Alex Ferguson anointed Jose Mourinho in 2013 Manchester United could have ridden roughshod over the Premier League landscape and immediately retained the title.

But Ferguson was blinded by pride and anointed a fellow Scot he claimed was a "winner". Only he had won nothing. David Moyes has still won nothing.

Should Erik ten Hag's tenure end trophyless, his appointment would still have been vindicated. United are a credible force for the first time in a decade.

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They eventually got it right by hiring Mourinho in 2016 but by then the upper echelons of the Premier League were unrecognisable from Ferguson's final season. United were an unabashed cup team in Mourinho's first year in The Lowry and finished sixth in the league.

Ten Hag has restored discipline at United and they have an identity again. They start in the same formation and opponents as storied as Barcelona are adjusting their defence to counter United's attack.

The days when United would revert to a back three and prey on opponents through counter-attacks are over. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had some success with such humility yet also acknowledged after his last home game - a sorry 2-0 defeat to City - that "it's not what we want to look like. We want to be on the front foot and aggressive." United were both in Camp Nou.

Barcelona swear by Brian Clough's mantra that "If God had wanted us to play football in the sky, he'd have put grass up there". Yet they were reduced to aerial deliveries against United, unsettled by two Raphinha crosses. Gavi and Jules Kounde were guilty of cynical fouls.

Preying on slightness and committing tactical fouls are what visitors