Louis van Gaal's United Are Going For Goals

Manchester United's new-look team served up a dynamic attacking display in the 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers, raising hopes of plenty more exciting football from the Reds this season.

It was a commanding display of attacking prowess and the matchday squad showcased van Gaal’s impressive armoury of forward options for the first time. Radamel Falcao had to settle for a place on the bench before making his first appearance as a substitute. But the terrace anthem in his honour - sung heartily throughout - highlights how excited fans are to see one of the game's most lauded finishers in action.

The Colombian striker arrived in Manchester with a strike rate of 0.62 goals per game to his name and while he had just one half-chance against QPR, which was saved by Rob Green, it doesn’t appear that he will need many more invitations to find the net. He has already impressed in training, with van Gaal saying last week: “He had one chance [in his first session] and it was in the goal.”

Robin van Persie, too, is a prolific marksman and boasts a record of 48 goals in 79 appearances for United, while Wayne Rooney is chasing goalscoring records for club and country. The skipper's strike in the win over QPR took his Reds tally to 218 – he is third in United's all-time list of top goalscorers.

It's not just the players spearheading United's attack that pose a threat, however. Angel Di Maria produced a sparkling home debut on Sunday. He arrived at Old Trafford boasting 49 assists in four seasons at Real Madrid, including 17 in 2013/14, which was the best return in any of Europe's top five leagues. In his first home game for United he scored one and played a part in all four goals.

Ander Herrera, who scored the Reds' second against QPR, said of Di Maria: “Angel is one of the best players in the world. Manchester United always has to have top players and he is one of the best.”

Juan Mata, who also chipped in to Sunday’s sauntering success, is on a run of nine goals in 11 games in competitive action for United, a sequence that extends backs to March last season. Even in the Under-21s on Monday, Adnan Januzaj produced a performance that hammered on the first-team door, scoring three goals in a 4-0 win over Sunderland. And while young James Wilson has suffered with injuries so far this season, he scored twice on his United debut late last season and hit four against Manchester City in the Manchester Senior Cup final last month.

As van Gaal prepares his squad for the visit to Leicester, the challenge once again is finding places in his team to fit those attacking talents into the equation – one thing he isn’t lacking is a list of players who can create and score goals with great regularity. Before last weekend, the boss told his players, “Let’s make a new start.” And he will hope his players have started as they mean to go on.