What Erik ten Hag said after Fulham win proves he's the perfect Manchester United manager

What a difference a year makes. Twelve months on from their worst season in 32 years, Manchester United have recorded their second-highest points tally in a decade.

The only thing the final day of last season and the final day of this season shared in common was the May sunshine and the presence of Erik ten Hag. At Selhurst Park last year he sat in the stands studiously and watched a team devoid of confidence and quality suffer their 12th defeat of the season.

At Old Trafford on Sunday he patrolled his technical area in that sharp, dark suit as the king of all he surveys. This was win number 23 in the Premier League and number 41 in his 62 games in charge. Make it 42 next week and his first campaign will go from brilliant to breathtaking.

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A year ago United supporters were forced to celebrate Manchester City winning the Premier League on the final day of the season. City stopping Liverpool from winning the title was the only thing they had to cheer during a miserable 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

This time the focus was very much on their own team, a team that looks to be heading in the right direction. And this time the schadenfreude didn't involve one of their rivals winning silverware, but Leeds plummeting through the Premier League's trapdoor.

Next week the act of trying to stop City's inevitable march towards trophies falls on the shoulders of United and they will head to Wembley feeling confident. They have beaten them once this season already and are a much better side than they were back in October, when they lost 6-3 at the Etihad. Stopping City from winning the Treble is certainly plausible. Ten Hag's note of defiance after the