The 189th Manchester Derby really took the same unusual path as in previous years.
Manchester United, who lost 3 to 6 in the first leg at the Etihad, conceded the first goal again this time, but in the end they turned Old Trafford into a sea of joy for their fans.
After reversing the "noisy neighbor" 2-1, Manchester United is only 1 point behind their opponents in the standings, and they are within reach of the top four goals in the league.
Just in the late autumn of last year, Manchester United still seemed to be the Manchester United that dominated social media. However, after the resumption of work, what the fans saw was a relaxed, neither humble nor overbearing, pragmatic style of the new Manchester United.
Dual-core show off
The train runs fast, thanks to the headband. At this point, Rashford and Casemiro after the World Cup definitely have a say.
cabportal believes that the two players who both played in the quarter-finals of the World Cup should have enjoyed a longer vacation. At worst, they have to start with the rotation and gradually recover their physical fitness, but Ten Hag seems to be completely unprepared to give them a vacation.
After the start of the Premier League, almost all important games between the two were played. The only thing that can stop the two from continuing to start is the big-hearted Rashford who overslept and missed the pre-match preparation meeting.
In the eyes of others, the winter devil's schedule squeezes the main force ahead of time, which is quite a risk of recklessness, but for Rashford and Casemiro, returning to the usual rhythm of double matches a week is precisely the best way to regain their form .
The former suffered from the chaotic performance of last season, and even the national team's seat was once shaky. And Casemiro, who played intermittently after he moved to the Premier League at a high price, also urgently needs to find his position in Real Madrid.
So in the Manchester Derby, the fans finally saw a scoring and more responsible Rashford. In the first half, he pulled a muscle and could only go to the sidelines for treatment. In the second half, he still released himself in the counterattack, completely forgetting the injury.
Appearing in the no man's land of Manchester City's defense to complete the lore is the best reward for Rashford, who leads the European League in goals after returning to work.
Rashford was involved in two of United's goals in attack, while defensively, the ubiquitous Casemiro was United's most eye-catching player. Thanks to his partner Fred's tough defense against De Bruyne, the Brazilian midfielder who devoted all his energy to pestering Haaland only allowed the Premier League's top scorer to complete 1 shot.
A fact that is often overlooked is that Messi played against Ramos and Marcelo in the national derby all the year round in the early stages of Barcelona's campaign, but in the last years of Messi's time in Barcelona, the task of marking Messi was basically given to Casemiro.
Brazilians who are not only physically fit, but also have a lot of concentration and patience. The restrictions on Haaland in this field include both forward blocking and mobile blocking. Casemiro, who has often played as a central defender, has picked up his familiar business again.
Looking at the regular lineup, this Manchester United team has not changed much compared with last season, especially in the face of the real difficulties that the team's standard king Anthony has been unable to find his status and Lisandro Martinez is still recovering. He not only bases himself on tapping the potential, but also makes the best use of the new aid.
He used two superstars to take the lead in output, and also activated many players. Luke Shaw, who played as a central defender, defended Mahrez Malaysia on the wing, and Wan Bissaka, who almost became the "sunk cost" of his predecessor... …have both found their best form since playing for Manchester United in recent times.
It is true that the state came too early, and it seems not a good thing for the long battle for the Champions League seats, but look at Arsenal and Manchester City in front of Manchester United. If it weren't for the crazy output of Jesus and Harland in the first half, How can the two teams occupy the first camp so far?
against big6
Since Ferguson left office, the top six Premier League civil wars have almost become Manchester United's tradition.
Manchester United, who almost fell out of the top six last season, scored in the "little league" as expected and stayed at the bottom. It has almost become the most prominent label of Manchester United since the reconstruction 10 years ago.
But now, Ten Hag has brought fans an unprecedented new experience: in the first season of taking office, the schedule has just passed halfway, and Manchester United has won four of the top six opponents in the Premier League. Especially in the desperate situation of losing the ball first in the derby, changing from 0 to 3 points is a great reward for the team's strategy.
The strength of the lineup is not outstanding among the top six, but Manchester United, which can be "50-50" for everyone, sounded the clarion call of strong dialogue and strong output. It happened precisely from the last Manchester Derby: it fell behind 1-6 in the second half For them, I was afraid that they would continue to concede goals last season, but the result was that they scored 2 goals in a row in garbage time, which prevented Manchester City from repeating the same score in 2011.
Although the "pointless struggle" at that time had nothing to do with the grand purpose of winning or losing, it was a demonstration of Ten Hag's spirit of leading the team: I may be inferior to others, but I will never give up on my own initiative.
So when the new year came, after all the strong players chose to give up their strategies one after another, Manchester United was the only team that was still fighting on the fourth line and had the hope of winning the championship.
For Manchester United, which has a thin lineup, it is luck that it does not encounter strong enemies prematurely like Manchester City and Liverpool, but it is also one of the most positive changes for the team to strengthen their mentality under the continuous indoctrination of the coach.
"There is a problem with your game mentality. After the opening 10 minutes, your body language told me that you just want to lose the game." During this summer's warm-up match, Ten Hag beat his men mercilessly, denouncing In the continuous mediocrity, the team lacks the hunger to win.
As one of the 20 Premier League teams who is most keen on meetings, the pre-match pre-match meetings are meticulous. Ten Hag, who has to hold several replay meetings after the game, and even holds "on-site meetings" during the intermission, is by no means formalistic. He is not a preaching master, but discusses the matter as it stands, pointing to the crux of the matter. However, he spoke harshly during meetings and never shirked responsibility. Instead, he not only pointed out the lack of players, but also criticized himself.
Although it is inevitable to blush and sweat when discussing matters behind closed doors, for Manchester United, who were used to contempt for the authority of the coach and are often keen to "catch ghosts" in the dressing room, the atmosphere has changed accordingly.
The status of the Red Devils generals who focused on on-court affairs has also improved greatly. Players such as Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, and Varane have successively shown their appreciation for the professional ability of the coach. Whether they are the main force or the substitute, they are willing to play for the coach.
As Manchester United's number one scoring machine today, Rashford's statement is undoubtedly the greatest recognition of his boss: "He has created a style of play that can generate more opportunities. We are really playing forward-looking football."
It is not difficult to understand why the Dutchman, who has no foundation in Manchester United and even criticized the senior management in the interview, is now able to stand more and more firmly in the Dream Theater in a maverick way. Even though Manchester United is still not the favorite for the championship, the change of aura from negative to positive has already been the team's biggest gain this season.
10 years of reconstruction finally blooming?
Back to the topic that Manchester United has been unable to avoid in the past 10 years: Can Ten Hag, who has a winning rate of 75% since taking office and is the most coach after Ferguson, end the Red Devils' fate of rebuilding in name only?
Judging from Manchester United's strong performance so far this autumn, fans have reason to be optimistic.
Previously, Van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer relied more on comforting superstars, supporting newcomers, activating the combat power of some players in the team, and achieving the best results in their tenure with a wave of output, but for the team's deep Hierarchical structure, emotions, and especially the issue of the locker room, have been underestimated and kept secret.
But Ten Hag, who didn't believe in evil, set fire to the locker room where seniority was ranked before he let the fans remember his name. In the protracted war with Ronaldo, the Dutchman, who judged Ronaldo more by workplace rules, without personal grievances or moral judgments, was extremely calm under the siege of social media, and Ronaldo, who was finally out of the game, It also proves that Ten Hag's position is correct.
Following Pogba, Ronaldo's departure made Manchester United no longer have a superstar in the traditional sense, but the back-to-back dressing room also facilitated Ten Hag's selection of candidates.
The hard-working Casemiro is an important part of Manchester United at the moment.
Similar to Popovich who built the team culture with the NBA Spurs, Ten Hag's primary criteria for selecting players is not personal ability, but character and execution. "Character is the prerequisite for shaping the team's culture. Regardless of their positions, backgrounds and abilities, players must be consistent—the same goal, the same standard, and the same behavior."
So it is not difficult to understand why Manchester United, which has always lacked a center, is not like in the past few seasons, begging for the spirit of Ighalo, Cavani and other old veterans, but chose to be more economical and almost alone in the World Cup Overturned Verhorst of Argentina.
Another example is the former Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez. Both of them are not so traditional South American players. nature.
In the past 10 years, Manchester United's reconstruction has often gone astray, because the team has always been superstitious about the immediate results of superstars, but ignored the deep-seated harm of the privileged class to the team. From Di Maria in the early years to Ronaldo later, superstars can certainly bring short-term competitive dividends and popularity blessings, but the feathers left behind after leaving the team have become an extremely expensive cost in the team's rebuilding cycle, and eventually dragged down. team.
But now, Ten Hag, who no longer has to be distracted by the dressing room, is gradually creating a new Red Devils with a distinctive label according to his personal wishes. In the past few seasons, Manchester City and Liverpool have successively proved the truth of "the one who wants the same desire wins", so now, is it the turn of Manchester United who are also working together?