Manchester United Finally Found Its Bottle

It used to be that Old Trafford's regulars would see their heros save the best for last.

Maybe those days aren't so long gone, after all.

The chalk had Manchester United ringing up trois points against Middlesborough well before kickoff, but the visitors had other ideas.

And if it wasn't for those meddling kids ...

Oops! Right era. Wrong drama.

Anyway, suffice to say the Red Devils were content to say até logo to 2016 at the last minute.

Well, that's the way a certain Special One woulda said it.

Anyway, United's 2-1 comeback over The Boro kept them trending at the table's top.

Until the late stages of this one, though, it looked like the Red Devils' five wins on the trot were gonna be the extent of their hot streak. Much of that sentiment was due to Grant Leadbitter, who found twine in the 67th minute of a tense affair:

 

This required perfect technique, and dude was up to the task.

Boro were more than holding their own until five minutes from time. That's when United dusted off the map to Route 1:

 

Damn. Sounded like the fans were expecting that, didn't it?

Anthony Martial is indeed a golden boy.

All well and good, but this was the dagger only one minute later:

 

United's most expensive player, Paul Pogba, just paid off his debts, completing the comeback with a perfect header.

Maybe he's worth the hassle, after all. Just like 2016.