Let’s be honest, Manchester United played a terrible first 35 minutes at Southampton. That was underlined by the regret Matthijs de Ligt had when he was given a simple feint by Kyle Walker-Peters. Then Diogo Dalot made a stroke of inspiration that should have put Southampton ahead.

United were panicked and downright f***ed up, again without any real pattern to their football, in direct contrast to the pre-match interviews with Erik ten Hag and Dalot who suggested that this was a new Manchester United team with a new attitude to hitting the ball. It looked like the old Manchester United; specifically, it looked like the old brainless Manchester United.

Southampton clearly had their own style of play, while United looked like a motley crew who relied entirely on counter-attacking and undoubtedly individual quality.

And it was Southampton who really should have taken the lead when Dalot committed an idiotic foul on teenager Tyler Dibling. But the longer you watched Cameron Archer wait for his first ever senior penalty, the more you suspected that Andre Onana would win this particular battle of wills. And from that moment on, you absolutely knew that United would win this game. They simply have better footballers who are capable of more extraordinary things.

This was not a victory or a vindication for Ten Hag – who seemed to be risking his job with that starting lineup – but it does bring a sweet, sweet relief to the Dutch as keyboards were prepared for the kind of ‘bullying’ Marcus Rashford believes he has experienced of United’s most vocal critics.

United’s first goal came from a superb cross from Bruno Fernandes that De Ligt converted, while Rashford fired his first goal since March into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. The Saints were twice guilty of sloppy attempts to defend corners; this is going to be a long, slog-filled season for Russell Martin and his well-meaning but flawed team.

Those goals mean Ten Hag will have no further questions about that frantic first 35 minutes and the impact of the curious decision to start Christian Eriksen, which clearly contributed to a lack of control in midfield. And he was fully vindicated in his decision – which was widely criticised by United fans – to stick with Rashford and bring in the lively Amad Diallo for Alejandro Garnacho.

He could also easily point to the fact that United’s tally of six points from four games mirrors the start of two years ago, when Ten Hag finally guided United to a top-four finish. And the positivity doesn’t stop there, as Manuel Ugarte has been allowed to ease into the Premier League, with the emphasis on ‘ease’ as he entered the fray for the final, mundane 20 minutes as Garnacho made it 3-0 against 10 men.

We also saw a fine performance from Joshua Zirkzee while Lisandro Martinez established his usual excellence in defence. There are plenty of positives to be taken from this visit to the south coast, as long as you ignore the fact that a) this Southampton team will surely go back from where they came with barely a whimper and b) the first 35 minutes of football were truly rotten.

But United will surely find it easier to develop a pattern of play if Ugarte starts regularly alongside Kobbie Mainoo. Then perhaps there will finally be something approaching as much substance as individual style and we can stop talking about Ten Hag as a walking dead man without a clear plan.