For Manchester United's players and fans, their season finally began with the first victory of the Erik ten Hag era.
After shambolic defeats to Brighton and Brentford, Monday's seismic 2-1 win over arch-rivals Liverpool showed just what United are capable of under their new boss. Intensity, enterprise and endeavour, the qualities missing from Ten Hag's first two Premier League games, underpinned one of the great United displays of recent years.
Ten Hag's big selection calls came off, in particular dropping star player Cristiano Ronaldo and skipper Harry Maguire, both of whom are sure to start on the bench again at the weekend. The challenge now for Ten Hag and his players is to ensure they maintain that high level on Saturday at Southampton, otherwise victory over Liverpool will count for nothing.
World Cup winner Raphael Varane, who made his first start of the season in the win, said United must use the triumph as a launchpad for their season after a false start. “I hope it's the real start of the season for us, because in the two first games the mentality was not good enough,” said Varane.
“We had to fight like we fought against Liverpool. We know the potential of the team. We really needed a proud reaction in front of our fans. It was absolutely necessary. We know what we can do but we did it and I hope we keep pushing like this.”
Old Trafford has been a largely moribund place in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, with success, consistency of performance and results eluding a succession of failed managers. But on Monday night, the atmosphere at the Theatre of Dreams was electric and the noise deafening, as Ten Hag's United provided a glimpse of a potentially exciting new era.
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That buzz was not only felt in the stands, but on the pitch, with Varane – a four-time Champions League and three-time La Liga winner with Real Madrid – blown away by the atmosphere. “I really enjoyed it on the pitch - the atmosphere, the spirit of the team,” said Varane.
“I came to England to feel these emotions after everything I left in Madrid and this feeling was amazing. The crowd, the fans and the fight on the pitch was amazing. It's difficult to explain why, but we didn't start the other games with the same intensity, the same fighting spirit.
“We had the motivation, but it's difficult to explain why we were starting with this low energy. Football it's about energy, it's about when you have to push, when you have to stay calm, when you have to attack.
“We showed great control against Liverpool. It was a mature performance. We try to stick together. We're a team so we fight for each other. That's why I really enjoyed it.”
Midfielder Christian Eriksen hailed the unity among United's players as one of the key factors in their turnaround. "I think it [the togetherness] started after losing two games," said Eriksen. "This has been about coming together and getting back to basics. We needed to show that we were better at doing the basics and I think we did that.
“With the South American and a bit of Spanish style, there was a lot of passion towards the defensive side, but also the offensive side, we tried to do whatever we could. We have some very quick players and it's great to play with players who want to play football and run."
