It almost goes without saying now, but when Erik ten Hag's side win you can safely presume that Christian Eriksen had a key part to play in it.
Manchester United bounced back from defeat to Real Sociedad in their Europa League opener with victory over FC Sheriff on Thursday night. Eriksen played the entirety of the match and got another assist, and the three points duly followed.
Many people expected the Denmark international to have bit-part role to play this season, with Eriksen effectively viewed as a replacement for squad players Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata when he arrived on a free over the summer.
READ NEXT: Why Varane is United's new leader
Indeed, that probably was the plan. However, it is credit to the 30-year-old that he has made himself undroppable, not only filling the void for a progressive midfielder following Paul Pogba's departure and the failed Frenkie de Jong pursuit, but also because he has been excellent at it.
“It’s been going better and better in every game,” he revealed in a chat with club media recently. “First of all, I’ve played every position I think in the first two or three games, and now to be a bit more in the same position has been good to be able to develop the game from there."
Eriksen played as a false nine on the opening day of the season in defeat to Brighton and was the defensive anchor in United's humiliating loss at Brentford the week after. Since then he has been deployed in a more familiar midfield role and United haven't looked back.
United have won five of their six games since Eriksen switched positions and even that sole defeat comes with the caveat that he had been substituted by the time Sociedad took the lead at Old Trafford last week.
The Dane is not only great but right now he is arguably United's most important player given how integral he is to Ten Hag's pursuit of calmness and composure when in possession.
There is an obvious problem though: keeping him fresh. United have only played eight matches in seven weeks this season so there can be no excuses for any player complaining about the schedule just yet. Two postponements have certainly helped ease any immediate concerns, but the can has only been kicked a little further down the road given those games will need to be squeezed in somewhere later in the season.
Two games a week will become the norm for United after the international break and if they don't manage to win their Europa League group then they will also have to compete in a play-off round to earn passage to the knockout stage proper in the new year.
It means the real test is yet to begin and by the time it comes around Eriksen may well be feeling the impact of a season like no other, particularly given his impending international involvement.
Eriksen is not only undroppable for United but he is the talisman for Denmark too. Next week he'll likely start two hugely important matches for his country as they face Croatia and France in the Nations League.
Denmark currently sit top of Group 1 in League A and will win it with victory over Croatia next Thursday. Doing so would put them in the final four-team tournament, a chance to win another international honour and a more favourable draw for future qualification campaigns.
In just over two months he'll also be playing an integral role for his nation at the World Cup in Qatar. They once again face France in the group stage but with other matches against Tunisia and Australia there is a good chance they could go far in the competition, adding further playing time to his workload.
It means Ten Hag has a real dilemma on his hands once United return to club football next month given that arguably his most important player is one he can not necessarily rely upon to play the entirety of every match this season. Eriksen is probably vying with Raphael Varane for the 'most important' tag, but there are at least more viable options to replace the Frenchman, whereas there is a huge drop off in quality when the former Tottenham man is unavailable.
Once again, it highlights how important it is that United identify a suitable long-term solution for the progressive midfield role, be that with another signing next year or the development of a young player to fill in where possible going forward.
It is a real joy to see Eriksen so effortlessly control the midfield, but it is going to take a lot of effort from United to manage him properly.
NEXT UP:
