Manchester United's players were not stunned by Anthony Martial's goals at Southampton. The French teenager has been training superbly, finishing with composure and impressing his new peers with his strength and pace.
It's not easy for any new United signing to impress his new teammates. They'll welcome every newcomer on a personal level -- even one wearing lurid pink football boots like Martial -- but once training starts and they climb off their warm-up bikes and onto the Carrington turf, they'll put the new arrival under immediate pressure.
They want to see if he can handle it, if he can improve the team and if this stranger is any better than the friend he might have replaced.
Some players -- partly through their achievements and reputation -- stand out immediately, such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, while others such as Morgan Schneiderlin are considered decent, but then questions are asked: "Is he really better than the ones we let go; does he add anything?"
Maybe he will be and some players -- such as Luke Shaw -- improve considerably once settled, but first impressions count.
Ninety percent of United's players hadn't even heard of Martial a month ago. Those who'd watched Monaco at Valencia in the Champions League playoffs had noticed him, but were as surprised as anyone when he arrived from Monaco for a huge fee, speaking barely a word of English.
By the end of the first training session, though, Martial had made an impact similar to the impression left by Adnan Januzaj when he stepped up to first-team training in July 2013.
Martial impressed in training, which is rare for young players who tend to have bigger peaks and troughs, but could he do it in a match?
Some players -- Jordi Cruyff springs to mind -- were standouts in practice but unable to repeat that form in games. With three goals in two games, Martial has shown he can, while also adapting to Louis van Gaal's tactics, which had caused frustration among players.
At Southampton, United recovered from a pounding in the first 25 minutes to win 3-2. The result has got fans buzzing again after Tuesday's Champions League defeat in Eindhoven.
The team remain inconsistent, a paradox who are hard to beat yet who had lost their previous two away games 2-1 after taking the lead in both. In the first third of Sunday's game, United looked as poor as they did in the equivalent fixture last season, which they won.
Matteo Darmain couldn't control Dusan Tadic, while nobody could control Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle. Doubts about Van Gaal quickly resurfaced as his team were unbalanced and outmuscled by Mane, Southampton's Senegalese 23-year-old No. 10, who was a summer target for United.
Instructed to stay close to Michael Carrick, the main conduit of United's play, Mane did just that. Carrick is a key footballer for United, but he doesn't flick a ball past an opponent charging in like Paul Scholes did.
Thus, Carrick was pressured early and often by Mane, who was key in Southampton's 13th minute opener and nearly helped his side double their lead two minutes later when Carrick played the ball back to Chris Smalling.
The Senegalese chased the defender down. Smalling is a top player who has improved hugely, but he's no Laurent Blanc on the ball and surrendered possession before Pelle managed a shot, which hit the outside of David De Gea's post. After that, though, Mane faded and, as their manager Ronald Koeman later admitted, Southampton lost belief.
United grew into the game and Martial took centre stage with a goal either side of half-time. There's some bafflement that his French compatriot and former Monaco manager Arsene Wenger, who has a fortune to spend, didn't pick up Martial for Arsenal. Not that United supporters are complaining.
Lauding their £36 million hero, the 3,000 travelling fans sang "what a waste of money" in sarcastic tones before their long journey back to Manchester. Among them was former Ipswich and Leicester striker James Scowcroft.
"Martial is a star," Scowcroft said. "I saw him in the Toulon tournament 18 months ago for a French under-19 side. Wayne Rooney has to be on his toes and I say that as a massive Rooney fan. He's everything Rooney was 10 years ago. He's quick, he's sharp. Even though the second goal was handed to him on a plate he was straight onto it and he finished it."
Van Gaal, who initially was staggered by the huge fee Monaco demanded and their extra demands for a player in return which were declined, has attempted to take pressure off Martial by saying he was a signing for the future.
But if the teenager is the only player scoring then it will be hard not to start him because Rooney's form has badly dipped and his many supporters are finding it harder to argue the case for his inclusion in United's starting XI.
United's captain returned on Sunday after missing two games and played as a No. 10 behind Martial, but his current goal-scoring record remains wretched -- his last league goal was in April -- and nobody can understand why he's not finding form.
Fortunately, goals are coming from elsewhere. After scoring only three goals in their first four league games, United have now scored six in the past two, with Martial responsible for half of those.
It's still very early in his United career and fans have been carried away with teenage European strikers before, as was in the case in the spring of 2009 when Italian Federico Macheda was briefly welcomed into red hearts.
However, while questions about Macheda's poor attitude would dog his time at Old Trafford, Martial appears to be grounded, except when he flies on the pitch.
He wasn't the only one who impressed at St Mary's. The team also showed pleasing examples of what Van Gaal calls his "philosophy." A move of 44 passes led to Juan Mata's goal and the efficiency in front of goal also has improved -- United's last six league shots on target have gone in.
De Gea was again exceptional -- his 59th-minute save from Jose Fonte kept his team ahead when they could have faltered, and he is enjoying life at United again.
With Manchester City losing at home, the weekend was a good one for United fans as their team moved up to second, six points clear of Chelsea and five ahead of Liverpool.
United now have three home games in a week, all of which are important. Ipswich in the Capital One Cup will likely see weakened sides fielded by both teams, but nobody would turn their noses up if that trophy were the first for Van Gaal in England.
Bottom-of-the-table Sunderland visit Old Trafford on Saturday, then it's Wolfsburg next Wednesday in what is already a must-win Champions League game.
With the team beginning to entertain and score, the mood continues to improve, though only wild optimists harbour thoughts of a Premier League title challenge.
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