The vibes are absolutely immaculate right now.
At least for this week, I don’t care about tactics (but, as always, you should read [Pauly Kwestel’s new piece](/general/33569/tactical-analysis-carrick-makes-the-complicated-simple-in-derby-win)!), I don’t compare about sustainability, and I definitely don’t care about what’s to come in the summer. I only care about one thing, and that is the fact that Manchester United kicked the absolute crap out of their cross-city rivals, second-place Manchester City.
The forwards pressed like hell. The midfield was cohesive. And the defense was impenetrable. That felt really good to watch, didn’t it?
Social and traditional media were mobilized at the full-time whistle to to discuss Michael Carrick’s future as a possible full-time appointee and to repurpose Rio Ferdinand’s 2019 plea for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to have a blank check after United’s famous Champions League victory in Paris.
I don’t care about that either. The memes are fun, but it’s also okay to just enjoy this past weekend’s victory without looking forward. We’ve watched some truly mind-numbing football over the last 14 months, and frankly even longer than that. I’m just glad that for once, waking up at 7 a.m. to start social media coverage from the United States’ East Coast paid off with so much satisfaction.
United thoroughly earned a clean sheet — something we have also seen very few of in recent years. And they scored two official goals (which were superb), with three more that were ruled off.
I will not soon be tired of watching Bryan Mbeumo’s game-winner from every possible angle available in the stadium.
Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Dorgu, Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Harry Maguire, and Lisandro Martinez all put in absolutely thunderous shifts. Matheus Cunha came off the bench and made an instant impact. Mason Mount came off the bench and nearly made an instant impact when his first touch of the game was a shot that hit the back of the net but was called off by a vibeless VAR review.
The Reds gave us something to cheer about again, and, while I hope it continues, obviously, I’m not going to concern myself with the future right now. Join me in just enjoying this week. We can worry about first-place Arsenal once it kicks off.
Now, the Manchester United 2025-26 Vibes-O-Meter is a very specific device developed with the most advanced science available to us: our gut.
The Vibes-O-Meter uses a scale of 1-10 based on the contemporary highs and lows of the Post-Fergie era. A one being like the feelings after City’s 6-3 win in the 2022 season, while a 10 feeling like the FA Cup Final win in 2024 or Scott McTominay’s [moon shot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIdcimGb1w8).
* Manchester is Red!
* Mbeumo and Amad are back!
* Premier League Assists King Bruno!
* Mainoo!
* Carrick’s Manchester United coaching record!
* Not worried about anything right now — definitely not Arsenal up next…