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Opinion: Derby win can set the tone for our future

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.

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