Manchester United enjoyed one of their best results under Erik ten Hag as they beat Manchester City 2-1 in the derby.
The Red Devils were well worth their victory with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford getting the goals late on in the second half.
The Old Trafford outfit were comfortably the better side here against their near neighbours and thoroughly deserved the three points that takes them into third place in the Premier League.
It was almost completely against the run of play when Jack Grealish broke the deadlock on the hour mark.
Most other United side’s in recent memory would have folded at that point.
Under Erik ten Hag though, this side aren’t ones to throw in the towel and never panicked when they went behind.
Bruno Fernandes bagged the equaliser on 78 minutes with a goal that was quite clearly offside before Rashford tapped in three minutes later for a winner.
They got lucky with the equaliser but you create your own luck in this game, and the win was more than United deserved.
The stark difference between the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer/Ralf Rangnick years couldn’t be clearer with the Ten Hag doing away with an inflated ego, creating a good culture and coaching the players he has to become the winners they always were.
The England international’s time at Manchester City has been middling at best with the past 18 months probably the worst in Grealish’s career.
There have been plenty of calls for City to cut their losses on Grealish and sell him for a vast loss in the summer.
But the £100m man came up trumps today with only his second goal of the season.
Ghosting in at the back post, Grealish out-jumped his man and headed in for City’s goal with wild scenes following the finish.
It was a brief moment of joy in an otherwise desperate display for the away side but hopefully it can be the the catalyst for a new Jack Grealish at Man City.
Man on fire
If one player epitomises what Manchester United are under Ten Hag now, it’s Marcus Rashford.
Rashford has been in stunning form pre and post-World Cup and was at it again here in the derby.
The 25-year-old scored in his ninth consecutive game at Old Trafford with a neat close range finish.
But his performance was way more than the goal.
Endless running, an almost telepathic understanding with Bruno Fernandes and a killer instinct in the box, Rashford showed all of his best attributes in this 90 minute masterclass.
Yes, he was offside for the Bruno Fernandes equaliser with the law book clearly stating that he was “making an obvious action which clearly impacts the ability of an opponent to play the ball”.
But that won’t worry the home fans one bit with the three points – despite that bit of luck – deservedly going to Rashford and his team mates.