As Erik ten Hag danced with delight at Wembley in February after helping his new side end their six-year trophy drought, it seemed the grandiose Manchester United of old were back.
The years of toil in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the turgid football under Louis van Gaal, the tempestuous Jose Mourinho period and the tactical naivety of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s spell had all been forgotten.
