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As far as New Year celebrations go, a 2-0 win over Everton paved a near-perfect way for Manchester United to welcome 2018.
A lacklustre end to 2017 took the gloss off what was otherwise an excellent 12 months for Manchester United fans.
The League Cup and Europa League triumphs apart from ending the calendar year in third place made 2017 a year of vast improvements for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United.
Ending the year with a League Cup exit against Bristol City and three consecutive Premier League draws away to Leicester and at home to Burnley and Southampton was a disappointing note to finish on. Regardless, 2018 is still promising to be an exciting year for Manchester United.
#5 Exciting youth continues to dazzle
Marcus Rashford (20), Anthony Martial (22), Paul Pogba (24) and Jesse Lingard (25) all remain on the right side of the 20s and have already combined for over 400 senior appearances for Manchester United.
That's a wealth of experience for players still so young and with so much room for improvement.
Lingard, the oldest of the group, has often been considered the least talented of the four, but we have seen how big a difference 12 months can make.
The United academy graduate already had a few important Wembley goals on his CV, but this season, he has brought a new level of consistency to his game, contributing to 11 Premier League goals.
If the next 12 months feature a similar rate of improvement for Pogba, Martial and Rashford, then United fans could be set for a dramatic upturn in form and silverware.
Martial's opener against Everton means he has now been involved in 10 goals, one more than Rashford, while Pogba's increased influence on the side will only continue to grow with more consistent football.
#4 Champions League dark horses?
United's failure to pick up wins against Leicester, Burnley and Southampton, coupled with the Manchester derby defeat and Manchester City's record-breaking winning run means any hope of a Premier League triumph has been extinguished.
However, the Champions League remains an opportunity for Manchester United to make a statement in Europe.
While the team's current form does not show it, United have already proven this season that its best football is good enough to beat just about anyone on the planet.
The club has already been handed a somewhat generous draw in the Round of 16, where they will face a Sevilla side struggling for form in recent weeks.
To win the Champions League, United will undoubtedly have to beat one of the world's best teams, be it Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain or even Manchester City, but the truth is that United's numbers this season stack up with the best of the best.
In the Premier League, United have scored 45 goals in 22 games (2.04 goal per game) and conceded just 16 (0.72 per game). In the Champions League, United only dropped three points and scored 12 goals across six games, conceding just three.
United are a hard team to beat and if Mourinho can find a way to keep his side tight at the back and still get the most out of his frightening offence, United is a match for anyone in Europe.
With a bit of luck in the draw and some solid guidance from Mourinho, United could very well be the dark horse in the Champions League.
#3 Increased squad depth
A constantly improving Lingard has almost been like a new signing for Jose Mourinho.
The United academy graduate scored two brilliant goals to salvage a point after being 2-0 down against Burnley and topped those efforts off with a screamer to seal the deal against Everton.
The 25-year-old has to be considered as a genuine contender for a spot in Mourinho's best XI now, either in one of the wider attacking midfield areas or more centrally as a number 10.
The added competition should be enough to keep Juan Mata sweating and Henrikh Mkhitaryan worrying about how he will manage to get back into Mourinho's plans and that can only mean continued improvement from all.
Mourinho loves to have multiple options in every position on the field and Lingard is beginning to prove himself as an option he can no longer ignore.
#2 Big signings to come?
The continued improvement of Jesse Lingard and others in the squad has granted Mourinho additional depth, but he has made no secret of his desire to spend more money to bring added quality to Manchester United's squad.
The Portuguese manager has already made improvements to United in his tenure. In his three transfer windows to date, Mourinho has signed the considerable talents of Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic.
The resources available to him means his squad makeover is happening at a much slower rate compared to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, who had a better starting squad to work with and can sign almost a completely new squad in the space of one off-season.
Nevertheless, Mourinho has shown a keen eye for talent which has enabled him to bring much-improved results to United.
There is still much work to be done, however, and there is no doubting Mourinho will be targeting at least one big name in January and several more in the off-season.
Malcom, the 20-year-old Brazilian forward, could arrive as early as this month with injuries to Ibrahimovic and Lukaku leaving Mourinho short of options up front and there are few things more exciting for United fans than the latest star signing.
United has also shown a keen interest in Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who could well prove to be the final piece of United's midfield puzzle.
#1 Work in progress
A seemingly unstoppable Manchester City has United's form seem a lot worse than what it is, but there is no denying that Mourinho's side has vastly improved on last season. Regardless of how 2017 ended, United remain on an upward trajectory.
United score more goals and concede less than they have in years and the club has a crop of players with bright futures ahead of them.
Mourinho will have learned a lot about his team over the last 12 months and he will have a clear vision of what needs to be done to close the gap with City in 2018.
United's long-lost Premier League trophy almost certainly will not return this year. But 2018 may just prove to be the year the club takes a few important steps required to bring it back in the near future.
