Are Man Utd back?! Six reasons why Ruben Amorim's improving Red Devils can be surprise Premier League title challengers THIS season

Shaw's comments initially aged like milk, as United won just two of their opening six Premier League games of the 2025-26 campaign. A woeful 3-1 defeat at Brentford left Ruben Amorim's side languishing in 14th at the end of September, and the large majority of the fanbase were calling for the Portuguese manager to be dismissed.

But everything has changed over the last month. The Red Devils finally sparked into life by dispatching high-flying Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford, before ending a nine-year winless run at Anfield and Amorim's hunt for the first back-to-back league victories of his turbulent reign.

United made it three on Saturday, beating Brighton 4-2 to climb into the European spots, six points behind early pace-setters Arsenal. The Seagulls threatened to complete a sensational comeback late on, but Bryan Mbeumo made the points safe in the end, and it was no less than the home side deserved.

"I think they are more confident," Amorim told reporters when asked what has driven the recent improvement in his players. "I think the best game that we did this season was against Arsenal, the first one. But then, when you are a little bit more confident, when you have a different spirit, sometimes you have a little bit [of] luck in certain moments of the game that help you to win."

After so many months of misery, United are finally making their own luck, and all of a sudden, Shaw's bold statement of intent sounds more like a prophecy. Few outsiders will be entertaining the possibility of the Premier League trophy heading back to Old Trafford after a 13-year absence come May just yet, but now, that absolutely has to be the aim for Amorim and his constantly improving team. This is more than just a mini-resurgence; United are playing their best football of the entire post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

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