For Manchester United, the Jose Mourinho era was going swimmingly until last weekend’s 2-1 home derby defeat against Manchester City. The defeat brought the team and club back down to earth after a good start to the campaign.
The Red Devils then suffered a rather less high-profile 1-0 loss at Feyenoord in the Europa League in midweek. The defeats may have been very different in their profile, but they both showed there is work to do for Mourinho to restore the glory days at Old Trafford.
United continue their campaign on Sunday lunchtime when the Red Devils visit Watford in the Premier League. The game is a must-win to get the campaign back on track.
A sign of good team is how they respond to setbacks. In the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson, United very rarely suffered a run of bad results. When they did though they had the innate ability to regroup and bounce back.
The Red Devils needs to rediscover those recovery abilities under Mourinho. However, in Watford, they will face a Watford team with their tails up. The Hornets went into last weekend without a Premier League victory but somehow came back from a two-goal deficit at West Ham to win 4-2.
The victory was boss Walter Mazzarri’s first as Watford boss and will no doubt have lifted the spirits of everybody connected with Hertfordshire outfit. Sunday’s game will be a true test of United’s title credentials.
The Red Devils finished fifth last season in the Premier League, but the arrival of a big name boss in Jose Mourinho and a number of high-profile signings was seen as enough to catapult the team into the race for the title.
No doubt United will be up there fighting for the title, but it's games like this one that will define just how far they have come in Mourinho’s short tenure.