Indeed it was perfect as everything we did was spot on. After a great win at Southampton, Barnsley was a chance for us to slip up.
Thankfully, we didn't and we built from Saturday's 3-0 win and improved on it even further. A lot of positives to take from last night's 7-0 thumping.
1. Efficiency
This was the first game where we saw United actually take their chances. Over the past few years, we haven't seen MUFC put away their chances and often let games go to the wire unnecessarily.
Erik ten Hag has spoken about how his side have improved when it comes to chance creation but that it's about taking them that has been the problem this season.
MUFC are actually getting into good areas and creating great openings but without that cutting edge. Against Barnsley though, that wasn't the case as we missed just one or two chances that we should've scored. Other than that, every shot we had appeared to go in.
We need this kind of efficiency going forward because we miss far too many good opportunities.
2. Ruthlessness
Something that came with the efficiency was the ruthlessness from United.
This is also something that we don't often see from our team as they take their foot off the gas and allow opposition's to come back into it.
People will say that it's only Barnsley (and it was) but going back to last season, it was only Wigan and Newport County. Both are lower league opposition yet we didn't have that ruthlessness and efficiency in those games as in this.
We were 2-0 up quite early on at Newport but thanks to selfishness and not taking our chances as well as giving away chances, we let them back into it and had to rely on 2 late goals for the win.
We don't put teams to the sword. This was the first time we scored more than 4 goals under Erik ten Hag and was the first time we scored 5 or more since the 6-2 victory over Roma back in 20/21.
This was also the biggest win we've had with Erik ten Hag.
Having this relentlessness up front is needed as we know how important it is to score goals. Yes goal difference doesn't matter in the cups but it is an increase in scoring which we know we need to improve upon. This will also increase the confidence of all when you win 7-0 regardless of the opponent.
Is this an indication that we are removing the complacency?
3. Competition for places
This is the headache Erik ten Hag was talking about and wants. We have a lot of players performing well at the moment and gives the manager a tough choice when it comes to his next team selection.
We have been so used to players being so shit in the past that we had to choose between who is less shit when it comes to the starting XI.
Now, it's the opposite. It's exactly what was needed.
ten Hag made eight changes to his team last night to the one that played Southampton and yet, the average rating for most were 7 and above.
Casemiro and Ugarte were what was required in midfield and they are probably competing with each other for that CDM spot. Eriksen played really well and got 2 goals and an assist. There was no Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo in the starting XI with the latter not even getting on the field. We know that those two will start as they are regular top performers but to have the likes of Eriksen, Ugarte and Casemiro all playing well and competing for the midfield positions is good.
The same goes for Garnacho as he is a bench player at the moment yet scored 2 and assisted 2. However, Rashford is performing at the moment and Amad is our best winger, at least on the right. The manager cannot play all three wingers without dropping someone like Zirkzee. Even Antony played well which is a positive too.
This healthy competition is absolutely necessary because a squad with quality is needed so that when the manager needs to rotate or players aren't playing well, he knows he has quality to call upon.
And let's not forget, we still have Leny Yoro, Rasmus Hojlund, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount to come back.
4. Keeping the ball better
I've felt that this season we've kept possession a lot better than we have done in previous years. We also make better use of it and don't waste it by shooting from here, there and everywhere.
When looking at our performance and specifically goals last night, it was very simple. We saw the pass, we played the pass. We drove with the ball when we needed to. We were patient when we had to be. And there were also a lot of cut backs to players on the edge of the box for a chance or goal, which is something else we've been doing a lot.
I feel that we are not trying to do too much or try too many Hollywood passes, and yes, even Bruno isn't doing it too often. There's no forcing of the issue and rotate the ball when we need to.
Manuel Ugarte was a good example of this. He kept it simple, he didn't try too much. The pass was played when needed and he drove with it a couple of times as well. Ugarte's winning of the ball was superb although he did give away a lot of fouls which could be a problem especially in the Premier League. But his overall performance was perfect.
I also feel that with us keeping more of the ball, the relationship between players is building. All three forwards seemed to have a good understanding with each other. Garnacho assisted twice for Rashford who got the 'assist' for the penalty and was involved with Garnacho's first goal.
It was great to see Antony being given the penalty to help boost his confidence. That camaraderie is what we need to see more of as well.
There also looks to be something developing between Garnacho and Dalot especially when it comes to cutbacks. Garnacho had an opportunity that was blocked in the first half and his goal at Southampton was from a cutback from Dalot as well.
This was also something that we didn't do before and is good to see as it is an underrated ability.
5. Second team sluggish
This is both good and bad but also not completely unsurprising. I don't expect to see the bench options and new signings (Ugarte) and youngster (Collyer) to start playing like prime 08 United.
The start of the game was slow and sluggish with a lot of fouls in there, we looked poor defending crosses, but once they got into the swings of things, they started to play a lot better.
We know that most of them won't start in the first team but it was really important for them to get some minutes. A lot of them did perform to a level where they could break through into the first XI which is what we want to see.
I must commend the manager for keeping good on his word about rotation. In the past, ten Hag has been known to go quite strong with his selection even when playing opponents like Barnsley. He wouldn't give a rest to those who needed it and it would frustrate us all.
For this game though, he did rotate and those players paid him back. This is something that I want to see from him more often.
Background Image: Man Utd 7-0 Barnsley | Creator: Ash Donelon | Credit: Manchester United via Getty Images - SuperSport