Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United managed to pick themselves up from Hull-caused frustration in midweek to thrash Leicester on Sunday.

An eventual 3-0 thumping of the champions was perhaps generous on Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes and Mourinho is showing some understanding of how to balance his team, which alluded him for the early knockings of the campaign.

The heart of their revival in this match in particular was Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian put in a stellar individual display, terrorising the Leicester defence with his direct dribbling and providing a reliable end product to make him a true danger to any opposition.

For all the talent in Manchester United’s squad, Mourinho has seldom seen individual performances this good this season. Mkhitaryan was signed as one of the world’s best and, having had a rocky first few months at the club, is finally being given the chance to prove just how good he is.

Here are five reasons he can be the hero for Mourinho this season…

Yet another option

Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford.

Manchester United’s options in the final third are pretty darn good. That’s without mentioning that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be leading the attack, of course. Mkhitaryan has stern competition for the No. 10 berth as a result, but he staked one serious claim with his display against Leicester.

Mourinho has the luxury of mixing and matching his forwards however he sees fit, yet its hard to see past Mkhitaryan as the No. 10 from hereon.

Catch him if you can

Mkhitaryan running with the ball at full speed is a sight to give defenders dreadful nightmares. Able to change direction quicker than it should be possible and keeping the ball almost glued to his foot, he is one of the world’s best dribblers at top speed.

As Eden Hazard has done for Chelsea and Lionel Messi for Barcelona have shown, such magical dribblers can be used in numerous ways. Whether to retain possession or weave through an opposition defence, Mkhitaryan’s ability with the ball at his feet is almost unique.

What was Jose doing?

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Matching Leicester’s 4-4-2 up seemed like a bad idea. It was a bad idea. Mourinho, though, is a master at picking up tactical issues quickly and shifted the team around immediately. There should still be concern, however, that the Manchester United boss made such an error of judgement.

When you have players as good as Mkhitaryan, Mata, Ibrahimovic and Pogba, though, one tactical mistake does not mean disaster. It was Mata and Mkhitaryan who led the improvement yesterday and their quality, which we are seeing with increasing regularity, just opens up more options for Mourinho.

Bye Wayne

Although Wayne Rooney continues to play an important role as a squad member under Mourinho, the transition from the reliance on him is eased by Mkhitaryan. The former Dortmund man can occupy many of the same areas running from deep and adds energy to the final third that Rooney was so famed for earlier in his career.

Rooney could have a few years left at Old Trafford for all we know, but its hard to see him starting many matches with the attacking options Mourinho has at his disposal.

Going Beyond

Britain Soccer Football - Leicester City v Manchester United - Premier League - King Power Stadium - 5/2/17 Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their second goal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan  Reuters / Darren Staples Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications.  Please co

One of Manchester United’s issues has been getting players with pace close to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford rarely starting, Mkhitaryan is the best option for such a role. Feeding off the physical dominance of the Swede, the Armenian is the perfect foil in the final third.

It stretches the game, which in turn creates more space in the middle third for Manchester United’s other creators to work their magic. Runners are key with the central striker like Ibrahimovic, but that is just a small part of Mkhitaryan’s game.