But that's just a reminder for all those who thought otherwise.
Ruben Amorim only went and beat Pep and City again and won his first derby in his first attempt. "Can we play you every week? Can we play you every week."
This was a match in which we saw a lot more positives for United than negatives.
While the result was incredible, the performance from Amorim's side warranted that 2-1 win. There was no luck involved. Instead, there was structure and actual football from the red half of Manchester. Not things we've associated with United for a long time when playing against the big 6.
Yet here we are.
Are things changing for the good?
1. Need improvement going forward
This was one of the areas of our game that simply wasn't good enough. The manager himself came out after the game and said that his side didn't create much.
Going forward is an area that needs a lot of work espcially in the big games. We never had too many openings as other than the Bruno shot and Amad's goal, we didn't cause Ederson too many problems. There was just a header from Amad that the 'keeper dealt with pretty comfortably.
United only had 10 shots at goal with only 3 on target and just the 2 corner kicks, of which were terrible again. How can we not beat the first man?!
What also hampered us was that we were caught offside on 6 occasions. With City's high line, it was always going to be an area where we'd look to exploit but that lack of care when it came to watching the line resulted in us being caught on the wrong side too often which meant there was no opportunity on goal.
And because we don't create much, when we do, we have to take the chances. Amad was offside for an opportunity that he put wide but in that situation on his strong foot, you should be scoring. Bruno obviously missed that big chance as well. We need to make such chances count.
2. Ugarte
I feel as though this guy is not getting the praise he deserves, similarly to De Ligt.
And like his centre-back, Ugarte has quietly gone about his business but it's at a point now where he is making a big difference to our team. We see that more clearly when he doesn't play and for me (and many) he was the best midfielder on the pitch.
What I like about Ugarte is that aggression to try and win the ball back as quickly as possible and also in areas that can allow United to be on the front foot. The amount of interceptions he had was next level and he won the ball back for us in situations where City could've done some damage.
Another aspect of his game that I like a lot is that he keeps it simple. He sees a pass, he plays the pass. If there's a switch, he'll try to switch it. He doesn't overdo things and at other times, will look to drive forward or play a forward pass, which are underrated aspects of his game.
The way he controlled the ball out of the air before he played a backheel to Martinez who then assisted Amad was expertly (and coolly) done.
Manuel Ugarte:
95% pass accuracy
7 duels won
4 tackles won
2 interceptions
1 key pass
Stas via Statman Dave.
Captain Bruno said that Ugarte "was unstoppable." High and true praise from the skipper 👏.
3. We were braver in possession
I believe we took a step forward in our gameplay in the first half at Arsenal. It was only a half of football and while we didn't create anything in attack, how we kept the ball, moved it around and frustrated the Gunners was not something we've seen from the Red Devils in a long time.
What we did at City was take it up a level.
United looked a lot more confident on the ball and a lot more settled. I do think that we controlled the game a lot better than our hosts and is something that Amorim felt as well.
After the win, the boss said that "It was a divided game [vs Man City] but I believe it was a lot different to Arsenal. We controlled the game against Arsenal in the first half, but I didn't feel that belief today I felt, and I think that was the key point to change the game."
Feeling that belief from his team is a big statement by the manager because I think for a long time, us as fans haven't had that belief and trust in the players so for him to come out and say that, it should give the players a lot of encouragement.
Something else that was a positive from this performance is that we didn't drop our heads. We know that with United, it doesn't take much for our players to feel deflated all before collapsing and losing the game badly particularly against the bigger teams as that is exactly what happened at Arsenal.
Against City, we go a goal down despite being in the game, Kyle Walker should've been sent off for that embarrassment of an attempt to get Hojlund sent off and in the second half, we should've had a penalty before the actual penalty with that foul on Hojlund. All these things could've been a reason for us to lose ourselves and feel hard done by.
But we didn't let it flatten us. We didn't let it get to our heads and if anything, probably spurred the team on to go out there and get the win. The injustices gave us that motivation.
United continued to stick to the plan and in the end, got their due reward.
This is the type of mentality we need to have more often. This is more akin to Manchester United.
4. Best defensive performance?
I believe it was. There was a lot to like about how we played at the back against our noisy neighbors as we kept them quiet all game.
It was the fifth different centre-back trio used by Ruben Amorim in the league since he came to United. That is not something one usually sees but due to the necessity of rotation and players returning from injury, the manager has had to shuffle the pack throughout the team not just in defence.
But has he potentially stumbled upon something with Martinez, Maguire and De Ligt?
I thought that all three were superb and 7/10s in terms of their ratings. I don't think they put a foot wrong as while City are crap at the moment, to shut them and Haaland out completely is no easy feat.
The organization from them three and the team in general was well done too.
What I liked about this trio as well is that they all compliment each other.
What Martinez lacks in height, Maguire and De Ligt more than make up for. What Maguire lacks in speed and reading of the game, Martinez and De Ligt cover for him with their aggression and ability to anticipate quicker than their English counterpart. What De Ligt lacks on the ball, Martinez and Maguire cover for him with the Argentine getting the assist for Amad's winner with a great ball over the top.
Harry Maguire stats:
100% tackles won
100% ground duels won
5 interceptions
3 clearances
1 block
Stats via Statman Dave.
City only had 10 shots and 3 on target. Other than the goal though (which was a little fortunate), I don't actually remember them having anything clear-cut.
It was the best defensive performance we had and these three should take a lot of credit for that. Them along with Ugarte were all tied for second man of the match behind Amad.
5. Most trustworthy team?
And because we were so good and never gave up, is this perhaps the manager's most trustworthy team?
That word trust is not one we've associated with United for a long time as they are anything but trustworthy. However, when looking at that performance from those involved, it was a team that had a lot of hard workers who were willing to do the dirty work.
From back to front, it was a team that looked to have real grafters in it.
Amorim mentioned how United don't run enough in one of his first press conferences for the club. This is one of the things he needed to (and still needs to) improve. For that, he will need the players to do it.
I think he's found those that he knows he can trust to work hard but also have the quality in terms of a footballer.
There was all that talk about no Rashford and Garnacho in the squad ahead of this game and after the match, the manager said that it had nothing to do with disciplinary reasons as to why the pair were shockingly left out of the Manchester Derby.
Instead the boss said that for him, it's important to see how the players perform in training, games, the way you dress, eat and how you engage and push your teammates. He added that "when people at our club are losing their jobs, we have to put the standards really high. They have to fight for a place in the team and today [v City], the team proved that we can leave anyone outside the squad and manage to win."
Clearly the manager didn't think that this pair worked hard enough resulting in this omission from the squad.
Brilliant.
This team did show that they can perform without such big players and sends a clear message to them. Without Rashford and Garnacho, United managed to play some of the best football they've played against City in a long time. More than that, we looked like a team for once and one that deserved to win.
To be able to do that should be damning to Rashford and Garnacho. That should either motivate them to showcase why they should be in the team, or they will fall and makes it easier for the club to see who should be moved on.
It's a win-win situation.
I think after this win, Amorim now has a clearer idea of who he can truly trust moving forward.
A final word is that this was an epic win, a MASSIVE win but it will count for naught if we don't do the same in the next few games. This match gives us the opportunity to build on something moving forward.
We have to now display some consistency and try to improve. United HAVE to make the most of it otherwise it will be seen as a one-off against a side who are shite.
Background Image: Bruno Fernandes reminds Man City of the scoreline | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)