Has Manchester United turned a corner after beating Brighton?

Ratcliffe was at Old Trafford to watch this latest victory. This is only the second time under Amorim’s leadership that United have won three games in a row. Without combining the start of last season with the end of the previous season, this is the first time they have won three consecutive league games since February 2024 under Erik ten Hag.

Speaking very frankly, did Ratcliffe really mean it when he said Amorim needed three years to prove his worth, or was he just buying the former Sporting coach out for a while?

Ratcliffe seems to support Amorim’s vision. Amorim says the improved results further help provide a glimpse of a better future for United fans.

“I’ve never felt so embarrassed about what I was doing or not winning matches,” he said. “I always felt like Jim believed in and knew what we were doing.

“It’s more about the fans. Facing the fans is different at the moment.

“But I feel we must not lose this moment. Everything in football can change in one week.”

The words of Amorim are wise. However, there appears to be substance in what United have produced over the past three games.

With wins over Sunderland and Brighton at Old Trafford, the team achieved home victories against two teams who had won at Stamford Bridge.

No one would rule out Chelsea as a top-five player, so why should United be any different?

Why should they be any different when they have Matheus Cunha and Brian Mbeumo, who were jointly signed in the summer at a total cost of £130m, bringing a drive and purpose to their attack that was not there before.

Both scored in this latest win. Being for the first time this season. Mbeumo now has five.

Amorim was keen to praise them both in their different ways.

“Mattheus feels more confident the more difficult the match is,” Amorim said. “He wants responsibility. Today he defended well and when he has the ball I have no worries.

“He was suffering from not scoring goals, he could try to hide but I understood.

“Bryan is a work machine, he is very good in transitions and his relationship with Amad [Diallo] It is really good.

He added: “When we felt that this player wants to come here regardless of whether we are in the Champions League or not, we do everything to bring him here.”

As Amorim explained, his team now fits his system much better.

However, there is more than that.

Goalkeeper Sani Lamins does not fit into ‘the system’ but he does not instill a sense of panic in the rest of his teammates and the fans as Andre Onana and Altay Binder did before him.

The young Belgian is bound to make mistakes. But he generally looks solid and doesn’t give off an aura of impending disaster when the ball approaches him.

Matthijs de Ligt is not part of United’s leadership group but he leads the defense superbly. Captain Bruno Fernandes’ match was calmer, but he would have scored his 300th match for United with a goal had it not been for an excellent reaction save by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen in the second half.

Casemiro, who had a goal and an assist, had another great night. His rehabilitation continues – with Carlo Ancelotti restored to the Brazil captaincy – after he surprisingly dropped down the United pecking order at one stage, even succeeding the youngster currently on loan at West Brom.

“Other players need to look at Casemiro,” Amorim said. “At first he was behind every midfielder, even Toby [Collyer] But he fought, worked and returned to the national team and is very important for us. “It shows that football can change very quickly.”

It wasn’t the case then, on that awful, embarrassing night at Blundell Park in August, but United’s EFL Cup exit to Grimsby is now an advantage, as is the lack of Europe to distract them this season.

They have one home game in 50 days because there is nothing in midweek. They have a full week to prepare for the trip to Nottingham Forest next Saturday and another week before heading to Tottenham seven days later.

As Amorim said, United should take advantage of this forgiving fixture list.

Ratcliffe was not asked whether this upturn in fortunes is what he thinks will happen, but in the end, he must be getting some enjoyment out of his £1bn-plus investment in his boyhood club.

There is still a lot of work ahead but it seems that a corner has been turned. This is not limited to the first team only.

Ratcliffe wasn’t there, but had he been at Leigh Sports Village a few hours earlier he would have discovered that the academy he so criticized wasn’t so bad either After their seventh win of the season, United kept them at the top of the Premier League 2 with a 100% record and another of the summer arrivals, Paraguay’s Diego Leon, scored a stunning goal.