So how have we got here then?
Let's rewind a few weeks. Manchester United had just lost against Brentford 4-0 to make it two losses from their first two games and were slumped at the bottom of the Premier League. They were in talks to sign Marko Arnautovic and Adrien Rabiot. Gary Neville said this was the worst he had ever seen Manchester United and it was a full-blown crisis.
In the present day, Erik ten Hag's side are fifth - three points off top spot. They have won four consecutive games, including mighty impressive wins against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Crisis? What crisis?
Credit must go to the players of course. They have shown tremendous resilience and fight that we haven't really seen from a United team in a long while. But then again, these are some of the players that essentially downed tools on Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and haven't shown even a semblance of the enthusiasm that is currently on display. So maybe giving them a lot of credit is too kind a gesture.
The real star of the show for Manchester United has been Erik ten Hag. After a truly catacalismic start, he has steered his ship back on course in remarkable fashion. It is very early days, but he is showing the characteristics of a top manager.
He made some questionable decisions in his first two games as manager, which did lead to criticism from some of the media and fans alike. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Just maybe those losses taught the manager way more than if they had won.
The sign of a top professional in any walk of life is learning from your mistakes. And that's exactly what happened. He made key personnel changes. The pedestrian duo of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were dropped for Raphael Varane and Malacia, as a back four of Diogo Dalot, Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia were formed. Three out of those four defenders weren't main components of United's defence last season.
But they've all bought real steel and willpower that the previous units never had, as seen by their celebrations whenever making something as simple as a tackle. There's an impressive togetherness that has rarely been seen at the club recently.
This has clearly spread across the rest of the players too. The whole team are working together, putting their bodies on the line and seemingly enjoying the art of defending. They're doing the basics of football. Something that has - incredibly - not been on the show at United for a while.
Ten Hag's adaptability has been evident too. It's easy to be stubborn in football. It's easy to stick to your beliefs and insist that your way is the right way.
Perhaps the Dutchman is stubborn. If he is, he hasn't shown it.
After attempting to play out from the back with extremely minimal (no) success, Ten Hag has gone against his beliefs and reverted to a more defensive and conservative approach, to great success.
United suffered initially as David de Gea can't really use his feet and Christian Eriksen isn't capable of anchoring a midfield on his own as a deep playmaker. They were mauled by Brighton and Brentford who allowed both players very little time on the ball.
In the following four games, they stopped playing out from the back, were happy to let opposition have the ball and relied on counter-attacking. United have had great success on the counter-attack in the past, especially under Solskjaer, with players like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial much more suited to this style.
All three of Rashford's goals against Liverpool and Arsenal were purely on the counter-attack. His pace can be an unstoppable asset when utilised well.
So Ten Hag has adapted. He's playing the cards he has been dealt. And he's playing them to perfection. It's early days into his Manchester United career, and in all likelihood, there's going to be a lot of ups and downs. It is United after all. But if he continues in the same vein as the last few games, perhaps good times are coming back to Old Trafford.
Haven't we heard that before?