Opinion: Derby win can set the tone for our future

Well, not for me. As I type these words from a desk in Stretford, there's still a bit of Christmas cake left, the weather outside is classic Mancunia and all is right with this wonderful world of ours.

 

Actually, I tell a lie. I'm not actually sat at a desk in Stretford. Really, every part of my being remains fixed to the Stretford End, where Manchester United are unfurling attack after attack. I've been here for almost 48 hours now, and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is still powering up and down that left flank.

 

Today is, in my mind, Red Monday. Perhaps the Premier League's fixture gurus pencilled the Manchester derby in for last weekend because it fell so close to this aforementioned 'Blue Monday'. Certainly, Pep Guardiola's side might have provided the media with a nice line for today's papers.

 

But instead, the world was given a stunning reaffirmation of what Manchester United was, is and can be in the future, courtesy of Michael Carrick, Bruno Fernandes and, yes, the man some are now referring to as Patrick Ballon d'Orgu.

United 2 City 0 wasn't just about those three men, of course. Every player that took to the pitch delivered something meaningful and, in the stands, 70,000 Reds roared Old Trafford back to life, like a volcano that had lain dormant for aeons, simply waiting for the perfect moment to erupt.

 

Admit it: your heart sinks a little bit when you find out a big game – particularly the derby – has been pencilled in for the early kick-off on a Saturday. From experience, the best atmospheres are produced when us fans have had time to percolate all afternoon in the pubs. Time to lubricate the vocal cords with ale; time for hope to ferment into pride, expectation and confidence.

 

But when the team plays like it did on Saturday, from the first to the last minute, Old Trafford needs nothing more. Time goes out of the window – it could be 12.30, 5.30, 1956 or 2006. And when United's aggression on the pitch perfectly reflects the grafting spirit of our city, and the resilience and defiance that is baked into our club's identity, the players and the crowd alchemise into one immoveable, near-unbeatable juggernaut.

 

"Use the energy of the people," Michael Carrick told his players and, wow, did they do that.

Fans have spent much of the last two seasons lost in the discursive weeds knotted around tactics and systems, philosophies and projects. And these can all be important things. But most supporters simply want to see football that conveys the passion they feel for United. And when that is detectable, noise and backing will always be there, and tactics and style can fall into place so much more easily.

 

Looking around me on the Stretford End on Saturday, I could see that simple truth, and the emotional meaning of this performance, etched across the faces of those around me.

 

Carrick may only be here for 17 games, and who knows what the remaining 16 will bring? We hope it's more great moments like Saturday and European qualification. But whatever Michael does or does not do in the coming months, he has already provided a valuable service. He and his players have reminded us all about what a great Manchester United team and a great Manchester United performance looks and feels like.

 

When Dorgu scored our second, and the 'limbs' on the Stretford End threatened to completely reshape the plans for my upcoming ACL surgery, I turned around and noticed there was a young girl on the row behind me and my mates, stood with her dad. She can't have been more than seven or eight, and she looked completely mind-blown at what she was seeing, hearing and feeling. She won't remember the Ferguson era, or any of our 20 league titles, but I could see in her eyes that she knew. She knew, surely and instinctively, that this was a pure manifestation of the best of Manchester United.

We've delivered some inspiring performances in the post-Ferguson era. We've produced many moments that have made us all proud. Paris Saint-Germain away, for the guts. The FA Cup final win over City a couple of years ago, which had a nice blend of resilience and enterprise. The mad, deathless will on display in the 4-3 over Liverpool, and the even-more-bonkers 5-4 comeback against Lyon.

 

But this was different. This was United on the front foot, for 90 relentless minutes, against a side that has won four of the last five Premier League titles. Against a club that loves nothing (and I mean nothing) more than beating Manchester United, led by one of the greatest managers that this sport has ever seen.

 

And they got completely battered. United had the ball in the net five times, hit the woodwork twice, and had two or three more decent chances to score. It could quite conceivably have finished 5-0, which would have repeated the scoreline from a famous victory in November 1994, when Andrei Kanchelskis and Eric Cantona combined to devastating effect.

 

It would have been nice to add one or two more goals, just to really emphasise our dominance. But the goals were only one part of the package, really.

 

Many of the best moments, for me, came from more peripheral incidents. Harry Maguire escorting Bernardo Silva to the advertising hoardings. Lisandro Martinez swinging Erling Haaland round like he was training for the hammer throw at the 2028 Olympics. Some amazing, rippling one-touch passing interchanges. That Kobbie Mainoo feint in the midfield, which sent Antoine Semenyo halfway to Altrincham. Amad being Amad. Bruno Fernandes playing like one of the greatest Manchester United players of all time, because that's what he is.

The Stretford End reacted to all of this as you might expect. But when those two first-half 'goals' were ruled out for narrow offside calls, and City relievedly headed for the tunnel with the score still at 0-0, I think many of us were a little concerned. Surely Guardiola's men would emerge renewed after the interval? Had United's best chance for seizing victory slipped by?

 

But, no. The City manager introduced Rayan Cherki and Nico O'Reilly, but United were even better in the second half. And the opening goal, when it finally came, was fast enough, ruthless enough and exciting enough to be considered for immediate entry to the pantheon of classic Manchester United goals.

 

Dorgu's richly deserved second eased any nerves, and the whole of Old Trafford was ringing with jubilation and pride. More should have followed, really, and would have, if not for the agonisingly tight call on Matheus Cunha for Mason Mount's disallowed finish.

 

But we'd seen everything we could possibly have hoped to see, after a really challenging few weeks for the club, following the departure of Ruben Amorim as head coach and the saddening FA Cup exit to Brighton & Hove Albion.

In the pub afterwards near Trafford Bar, we were almost lost for words. Exhausted, with our bodies finally tension-free, our voices hoarse and our brains woozily delirious at what the Reds had just delivered.

 

"Enjoy your cup final win," messaged a pleasingly bitter Blue mate, shortly after I'd taken my first post-match sip of beer. An interesting take, given we've lost just one of our last four games against City, and actually beat them in a real Cup final less than two years ago. But that's the great thing about great wins and great performances: they endure for so long afterwards. You get to enjoy the game itself, and then the glorious, hazy days that follow; a banterous blur of memes, messages, silliness and joy.

 

We were happy to beat City, of course, but let's be clear: this wasn't our cup final. It didn't matter simply because it was the Blues. We've beaten Guardiola's City 10 times since the Catalan arrived in Manchester almost a decade ago, but never like this.

The chief cause for our happiness, our satisfaction, was that Manchester United had so clearly rediscovered the scope of its capabilities, both on and off the pitch.

 

And whether you're 40, 80 or seven – like that little girl on the Stretford End – once you've seen those capabilities, that potential, and felt the magic of Manchester United and Old Trafford working together in perfect harmony, you can never, ever forget it.

The opinions in this story are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Manchester United Football Club.