Manchester United made it four wins out of four under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Newcastle United.
Second-half goals by substitute Romelu Lukaku, with his first touch, and Marcus Rashford accounted for the Magpies and ensured Solskjaer follows Sir Matt Busby in winning each of his first four matches at the helm.
A clean sheet will also delight the Norwegian as Rafa Benitez’s side pushed hard but were unable to find a way past a determined Reds rearguard. With Chelsea held at home to Southampton, the battle to get a top-four slot seems very much alive.
United made three changes to the team that demolished Bournemouth 4-1 last time out, with skipper Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones and Juan Mata replacing Ashley Young, the suspended Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard.
Although the Reds were in control early on, there was only really a Rashford free-kick, that was pushed away by Martin Dubravka, to show for our superiority. And the hosts came out of their shell with Christian Atsu allowed too much space on a couple of occasions and working David De Gea. Soon afterwards, Phil Jones atoned for an error in the build-up by making a perfectly timed tackle on Salomon Rondon inside the area, with no margin for error.
Anthony Martial hit the side-netting after a lightning break but Atsu remained a threat as he wastefully dragged an effort across goal, following a superb through ball by Ayoze Perez. Solskjaer’s men regained a grip on proceedings but passed up a couple of decent opportunities.
Solskjaer not only got the clean sheet he was so desperate for, but he also got his players to show their guts when necessary while also retaining a coolness about their attacking approach.
It will also be a boost to see that Chelsea dropped points as United begin the long haul that is regaining an involvement in top-four talk.
Four games, four wins, 14 goals, finally a clean sheet, and Solskjaer showing he still has the special touch when it comes to substitutions.