Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a fan of statistics and he can tell you that his Manchester United players are running further, creating more and giving up fewer chances than at any point during his two years in charge at Old Trafford. But really there are only a couple of numbers he needs to call on to show the progress his team is making.
On New Year's Day 2020, United were fifth in the table, 24 points behind leaders Liverpool. On the first day of 2021, with a win over Aston Villa, they will be joint-top with Liverpool.