From Sunday, the next six days will be a good gauge of Manchester United's development. Then on the seventh day they are due at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea - current top six sides - is an intriguing triple-header for a squad that required a 93rd-minute goal to overcome Omonia Nicosia at Old Trafford. Mercifully, there are no more Europa League interruptions for a fortnight.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to stumble to victory over Omonia once may be regarded as a misfortune but twice looks like carelessness. United had 65 attempts at the Cypriots' goal across two games and only four were fished out of the net.
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It would be remiss of United to dismiss the Omonia performances when they faced two different goalkeepers who both cast a hex on most of their attackers. United were not ruthless enough at Everton, either, inviting pressure in the dying embers and indebted to Raphael Varane for preventing Jordan Pickford from connecting with a corner.
There are recurring issues: United have one reliable goalscorer and Cristiano Ronaldo has started more games on the bench. Antony's performance level is too fitful, Marcus Rashford remains prone to profligacy and they miss Anthony Martial.
All four of Erik ten Hag's substitutions had an impact on Thursday night and his coaching cachet has risen since last week. A United substitute has scored in their last four games, with all three winners coming off the bench.
"The good thing is the team keep going," Ten Hag stressed. "They don't give up, believe in [scoring] and in the end get their reward."
United have shown laudable belief since their pummeling in the derby and Scott McTominay had the mettle to recover from a conversion that endangered spectators to rifle in the winner three minutes later. Many missed it, so appalled were they by his 90th-minute effort they headed up and down the gangways to the exits.
Everton, with a miserly defence and undefeated run dating to mid-August, was a timely outlier for United ahead of more testing Premier League fixtures. Newcastle are more expansive opponents, a point behind United after plundering nine goals in their last two games.
Newcastle's position is flattering and it would be astonishing if they were in that vicinity come May. They were unrecognisable under Eddie Howe in December from the easy pickings United picked off on the day of Cristiano Ronaldo's homecoming three months earlier.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea will also test Ten Hag's selection strategy. He has been guilty of a lack of forward planning with some of his selections but Christian Eriksen earned an overdue breather against Omonia and Casemiro was withdrawn for McTominay. Omonia manager Neil Lennon admitted he was still taken aback by the strength of United's starting XI.
United were more coherent with Eriksen on as Fred flunked again and Bruno Fernandes succumbed to impatience quicker than any teammate. McTominay is bound to have a prominent role once his suspension is served against Newcastle as it would be fanciful to pair 30-year-olds Eriksen and Casemiro across three games in a six-day period.
There are tactical alterations to consider. Antonio Conte remains a disciple of the back three whereas Graham Potter, synonymous with a defensive trident at Brighton, has reverted to a back four in the league but toppled AC Milan with three centre halves.
Conte is among the Premier League's coaching elite and the brilliant Potter is in the second band. It would have been a travesty had Howe not been appointed by a Premier League club. However much Ten Hag may downplay it, he faces direct matches against all three. There is the additional plot strand that Tottenham passed on Ten Hag after interviewing him last year.
The month ends at Old Trafford with West Ham, who finished two points behind United last season. That was predictable under a manager who has barely dented his ceiling.
David Moyes never was United material. Ten Hag looks it.
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