Manchester United arrived at The Hawthorns on 21 September 1985 having won every league match they had played that season.
They left having scored five and extended one of the greatest starts to a campaign in English football history.
Ron Atkinson’s United beat West Bromwich Albion 5-1, recording their ninth consecutive First Division victory from the opening day of the season.
Alan Brazil opened the scoring after six minutes before Gordon Strachan doubled United’s advantage in the 22nd minute.
United pulled away decisively during the second half.
Clayton Blackmore made it 3-0 in the 71st minute and Frank Stapleton added another just two minutes later.
Brazil then scored his second of the afternoon in the 80th minute to complete United’s five, before Garth Crooks grabbed West Brom’s consolation.
The victory meant United had taken maximum points from their opening nine league fixtures.
And they were not finished.
A week later, Mark Hughes scored the only goal as United defeated Southampton 1-0 at Old Trafford, extending the run to an extraordinary 10 wins from 10.
Only Tottenham Hotspur, who began the 1960-61 season with 11 consecutive victories, have ever made a better winning start to an English top-flight campaign.
Everything appeared to point towards United finally ending a league-title drought that stretched back to 1967.
It did not happen.
After remaining unbeaten through their first 15 league games, Atkinson’s side faltered as the season progressed. United eventually finished fourth, behind champions Liverpool, Everton and West Ham.
That makes the 1985-86 start remarkable for two very different reasons.
Ten consecutive victories remains one of the finest openings to a season English football has seen.
Yet United’s eventual fourth-place finish is also a reminder of just how little an exceptional September can guarantee about where a team will be when the season ends.
