Manchester United's record at the halfway stage of the Premier League encapsulates both their improvement under Erik ten Hag and the sense there is obvious areas for development between now and May.
United will be delighted to be sitting third at this stage of the campaign. They already have a six-point cushion - and a game in hand - to Tottenham in fifth and if the title talk was fanciful, the main objective of this season was always a return to the Champions League.
But Ten Hag's team have navigated to that position despite scoring the fewest goals in the top nine and having the worst defensive record in the top four. They've used the strengths they do have to reach 39 points.
