Five talking points from Manchester United's thrilling 3-2 win over Hull

Manchester United look like they are finally clicking into top gear

Unbeaten in their last nine away games, having won each of their last five games in all competitions, Manchester United look like they are peaking at just the right moment. But it almost wasn’t, after they conceded two in the opening 15 minutes and had to play the final few minutes with 10 men, after Valencia’s sending off, right on the stroke of full time. But in the end, United’s powers of resilience were in evidence yet again, as they came back from 2-0 to win on Boxing Day, for the 16^th time in their last 17 attempts, thanks to Wayne Rooney who once again was United’s main man.

Fletcher flourishes on his return to the starting lineup

Although the Scot was taken off after just an hour, in that time, he managed to exert his authority on the game with his calm and composed passing. Starting for the first time in the League this season, Fletcher looked as though he was never away. Playing just in front of the defense, the Scot was instrumental in fending off several attacks. The Scot was neat with his passing and always found a way out of a tight situation with the simplest of passes. With Fletcher alongside him, Cleverley ventured forward with a lot more purpose and that in turn eased the creative burden on Rooney. With Carrick returning back from injury late in the game, Man United’s midfield suddenly looks a lot more secure than it did, just a few days back.

Moyes’s gambles pays off

When Rafael was limping after just 15 minutes, with the side 2-0 down, Moyes would have been forgiven for bringing on Vidic or Fabio, in place of the injured Brazilian. But, Moyes decided to go for it and brought on Januzaj, which meant that Valencia, who had previously been found wanting in defense, slotted in at right back. And again, when he brought off Fletcher, a more cautious manager would have been tempted to go for a safer option in Michael Carrick, but Moyes brought on Hernandez to play up top with Rooney dropping back to midfield. They were both attacking substitutions, which has been a feature of his reign so far. Those were the type of gambles, which if they go right, can make a manager look like a genius, but if they don’t, they end up looking like a fool. Such are the fine margins in top-flight management and a defeat here would have been costly. Thankfully for Moyes, his side managed to come away with all three points and it was his day in the end.

Rooney enjoying working in tandem with Welbeck

The injury to Van Persie has meant that Welbeck has been asked to play up top with Rooney playing off him, as the second striker. At least on the evidence of the past few games, it looks like Rooney is certainly enjoying his time there and his partnership with Welbeck is certainly looking good for not just club, but country as well. In this game, Rooney started as the second striker and finished as a central midfielder and had a helping hand in all three of the goals scored by United. Having kicked off the comeback with a wonderful free kick from which Smalling scored, Rooney went onto score his 150^th Premier League goal for Manchester United, making him only the second player after Thierry Henry to achieve that feat for a single club. He was also one of the main reasons why Chester put the ball through his own net and if he keeps up his performances, United look well on track to finish in the top four.

Hull certainly gave United a run for their money

Before the start of the game, Hull had the meanest home defense in the Premier League and the KC stadium had witnessed only 10 goals this season, the lowest of any stadium the Premier League. Although, United scored as much as the eight other teams before them and half as many goals were scored in this single game, Steve Bruce can certainly take plenty of positives from this game. Top of that list, would be the performance of his son Alex Bruce, who put in a performance that would have made his father proud. And although they lost the game, the Tigers showed just why they are a force to be reckoned with, at home and had a few chances to equalize right at the end. If the Tigers can keep this up, they might very well, stay in the League for a very long time.