Gary Neville explained that he "can live" with Manchester United's performance as they drew 4-4 with Bournemouth in a Premier League thriller at Old Trafford.
United were comfortably the better of the two sides in the first half and peppered the Bournemouth goal but had to settle for a 2-1 lead with Amad Diallo's early goal cancelled out by Antoine Semenyo, before Casemiro's header restored the home side's lead shortly before the break.
Andoni Iraola's side came out of the blocks flying in the second period and equalised within seconds of kick-off through Evanilson, before Marcus Tavernier's excellent free-kick.
Bruno Fernandes then scored a wonderful free-kick of his own before Matheus Cunha swung the game back in favour of the hosts but in one final twist, Eli Junior Kroupi equalised and there were two big chances for David Brooks to steal it at the death.
It was a game truly worthy of being staged at Old Trafford and, while United dropped points at home for the third successive Premier League game, there was a marked difference between the previous failings.
Ruben Amorim's side were dire in the 1-0 loss against 10-man Everton after Idrissa Gueye's bizarre sending off and they were not much better as they slipped to a 1-1 draw against West Ham.
They may have again failed to win at home but Neville, speaking to Sky Sports, believes it was a step in the right direction and praised Ruben Amorim for his tactical tweaks.
He said: "It was a stunning watch, more for a neutral maybe but even for me, I was really critical after the Everton and West Ham games because of just the nature of the performance.
"I thought it was really bland, the Everton one, where obviously he kept three at the back against one and they were down to 10 men.
"There was no urgency, there was no throwing of the kitchen sink at it, same as West Ham, letting large parts of the game drift.
"Complete and utter opposite tonight, I can live with that all day long in terms of a performance and a standard, because they played really intent, played the ball forward, always played at full pace.
"I just think the way in which also, when United went 3-2 down and Ruben Amorim then went to 4-4-2, he did the right thing.
"Forget the system, he did the right thing, he got the right players on the pitch and they looked a massive threat."
- Dimitar Berbatov concerned by 'major question' for Manchester United's defence
- Man United 4-4 Bournemouth - the Premier League game of the season so far?
- Man United's thriller vs Bournemouth showcases January needs
United have now failed to win at home since a 4-2 win over Brighton in October, which directly opposes their away form, not losing on the road since a 3-1 defeat to Brentford in September.
That has hampered their progress somewhat, again missing the chance to rise into the Champions League spots, instead remaining in sixth place.
Following a season in which United finished 15th and scored just 44 goals in 38 matches, though, it has demonstrated their progress in attack.
After a summer transfer window which saw Bryan Mbeumo, Cunha and Benjamin Sesko arrive at Old Trafford, Amorim's men already have 30 goals in 16 matches, joint with league leaders Arsenal and more than everyone else in the league bar Manchester City.
It is that free-flowing football that Neville believes will be key to get the fans fully onboard before results and titles must follow.
"The second half was absolute mayhem, there was disappointment [from the fans] but there are a lot of fans we have just seen, who stayed in the stadium to clap the fans because they can live with that," he said.
"If you are a kid coming to Manchester United, my two girls came tonight, they will be thrilled walking back across that forecourt, they won't be happy that United haven't won, but they have seen a great game of football and that is what you come to Old Trafford for.
"You come for entertainment, of course you come to see your team win and I get it, you have got to go and win games, you have got to win trophies and titles and we can turn into the fact that this is not good enough in respect of what has happened.
"But I think getting the entertainment bit right, the performance right, the style right, is absolutely critical at this football club.
"I enjoyed what I have seen tonight from those red shirts, defensively, I think it is to be expected, [Lisandro] Martinez came on but [Matthijs] De Ligt, [Harry] Maguire, Martinez not playing and you have a couple of young defenders, it doesn't look like a defence that is going to keep clean sheets.
"I said just after half time you will probably have to score four to win this game and four wasn't enough, it needed to be five, because both teams looked very vulnerable at the back.
"I enjoyed the game so much, I can live watching those kinds of matches, I can't stand 0-0s, they happen sometimes, but you can't have bland games where teams are passing it across the back, that was a proper game of football and I enjoyed it."