With a couple of wins under their belt - albeit against weaker opposition - Man United may approach tonight's match against derby rivals Manchester City with - slightly - less trepidation.
The 2 - 0 win over a one-dimensional West Ham side was relatively routine even it required a wonder goal from Wayne Rooney to open the scoring.
But in many ways the real story from that game was what was going on behind Rooney.
With Robin Van Persie out for at least the next month, Rooney deputized in the No 9 position which allowed Juan Mata to take up that playmaker role he has craved. It also saw Man United's record signing begin what looked like a promising understanding with Shinji Kagawa who pushed in from the left flank.
The long ball from West Ham goalkeeper Adrian to the hulking frame of Andy Carroll was the most used pass combination during the game showing Sam Allardyce's strategy very clearly. Needless to say it was one-dimensional, boorish and didn't work.
But for United, the ball was played through midfield. Their most popular pass combination was between Darren Fletcher and Shinji Kagawa.
But significantly Mata and Kagawa also passed to each other regularly - a total of 18 times - and it seemed as if the Japan international was far more involved.
The duo were the leading chance creators for United with nine opportunities created between them and this Squawka graphic shows the roving nature of Mata's 53 passes (with an impressive 94 per cent success rate) which included four key passes...
For more Squawka stats from the game, click here
Compared to right winger Ashley Young whose Squawka heat map shows that he rarely deviated from that flank, Kagawa was far more involved and drifted infield regularly which moved him much closer to Mata who is the type of player who prefers his team-mates to give him less distant options.
In some passages of play, Kagawa could be found even further to the right than Mata, although the heat map below does not show his position relative to Mata. But it does show how much freedom he was granted...
So how is all that relevant to tonight and future matches?
On one hand, Mata is far more careful and precise in possession compared to Rooney (an 11 per cent difference in terms of pass completion on average) which adds a greater level of efficiency in that playmaking zone.
He is also a far more effective chance creator. In eight games for Man United he has already provided 25 chances, while Rooney has created 49 in 25 games.
And perhaps his style may complement Kagawa's more. But it is still early days for that potential partnership and it will need to be tested in more difficult circumstances.
