"United, United, United!"
That was the soundtrack almost as soon as Barcelona took the lead against Manchester United in the second leg of their Europa League playoff match on Thursday night.
Only last season, falling behind was often greeted by boos and jeers. Fans didn't believe the players were fighting for the badge as they should have been. The team was hapless. United were a power waning exponentially.
But things are changing. Quickly. Very quickly.
Credit: Soccrates Images via Getty Images
"Come Thursday, it's a big game, make sure you are there and we beat Barcelona together," Erik ten Hag said in a rally cry following United's weekend win over Leicester City. He left the Old Trafford pitch with a gesture intended to request that the crowd raised the noise levels even further.
In recent years, there hasn't necessarily been unwavering support for managers at United, which has meant such a demand maybe wouldn't have been able to come to wholesale fruition. But under Ten Hag, it is very different. There is massive respect from the fans.
United even confirmed that all music would be switched off 15 minutes prior to kick-off in order to allow the atmosphere to build ahead of facing Barca. And build it did.
The ambience inside Old Trafford emphasised the reformed connection between fans, the manager and the players. It was rapturous as the teams emerged.
United started with intensity and at a high tempo, however they didn't necessarily find themselves able to sustain this throughout the first half. For much of the opening 45 minutes, the game didn't really live up to the atmosphere, or the precedent set by the first leg, which was an instant classic between two sides playing with freedom at the Camp Nou.
Bruno Fernandes, who saw an excellent chance saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the early stages, had a difficult start compounded when he gave away a penalty for a foul on Alejando Balde. The Spanish left-back showed intelligence to win the spot kick, but Fernandes was always running a risk by grappling his arm inside the penalty area.
David de Gea got a sizeable touch on Robert Lewandowski's attempt from 12 yards, but he was unable to keep out the strike. It was more adversity for United to face, with slow starts and conceding first an issue that they have encountered slightly more often than they would desire.
This sense of adversity was compounded by unjust refereeing decisions in Ten Hag's eyes, with the United manager remonstrating following the perceived softness of the penalty decision, plus two seeming free-kicks on the edge of the Barca box being brushed away.
Credit: Oli Scarff via Getty Images
Xavi's setup was effective in limiting United, which led to the home side becoming quite flat, lacking any sort of control, and finding themselves struggle to impose themselves. More than Ten Hag's tactics necessarily being poor, the case was that Xavi's approach worked well.
Barca only managed a single attempt on target in the opening period, but they still felt the dominant outfit given their rigid defensive structure. United struggled to create quality shooting opportunities as a result, lacking a decisive final ball and finding themselves isolated.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - slightly less proficient technically - had more touches than any United player in the first half, which was an indictment of the efficiency of Barca's efforts to limit the left-sided threat offered by Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford.
United were disrupted, which seemed Xavi's intention, and there was consequently a lack of real flow to affairs as buildup became fragmented and the ball wasn't kept particularly well.
It wasn't necessarily ill-advised to start Wout Weghorst centrally and move Rashford to the left - an alteration from the setup from one week earlier, which could have been interpreted as a ploy to take advantage of being able to engineer unpredictability as a result of players being able to operate a number of different roles. But Barca stopped it from working.
And as soon as Ten Hag realised this setup wasn't getting his side far, he made sure to adjust his approach at half-time.
Since taking charge in the summer, Ten Hag has proven adept at altering things during matches. He is quick to acknowledge when things are going awry, and that was no different against Barca, with Antony replacing Weghorst at the break, which meant Bruo Fernandes moved to No.10, Jadon Sancho to the left, and Rashford through the middle.
Credit: James Gill/Danehouse via Getty Images
There was immediate vindication for Ten Hag's decisions, and not for the first time. Sancho won possession back on the left after pressure from Rashford forced Barca to squander possession, with the ball played from Sancho to Fernandes - now in the No.10 role - and across to Fred, whose first touch was excellent before a right-shinned finish beat Ter Stegen.
Old Trafford was sent into raptures as United re-found the incision that has often defined their highly endearing attacking brand of football this season. And from there it was one of those occasions where everything positive was serenaded by the masses inside the stadium.
Even when trailing heading into half-time, the fans' backing of the team was emphasised by the roar as they exited down the tunnel - clear evidence of the renewed synergy that is rapidly building the fear factor back up at Old Trafford. Combining that energy and Ten Hag's changes, United were revitalised in the second half.
Resilience has become a staple of Ten Hag's United, with a spirit that can guide them back from losing positions. There is no longer a sense that they are down and out when behind, which is credit to their willingness to leave everything on the pitch - something that makes adverse results much more bearable when they do come around.
These levels of commitment and work ethic are a large part of the reason that fans are so much more onside this term, and this led to the cauldron-like atmosphere on Thursday night. And this only boosted the team further, injecting even more energy and causing Barca to start to backpedal.
Barca were restricted to only two shots in the second half, although the first almost saw them retake the lead but for an acrobatic save by De Gea to deny Jules Kounde's header. The good and bad of De Gea was on display, with a pass into a crowd of Barca players late in the first half forcing Casemiro into making a goal-saving and possibly game-saving block.
On the whole, United were relentless in the second half - amplified by further well-timed changes that displayed Ten Hag's shrewd decision-making; introducing Diogo Dalot for Wan-Bissaka, who again showed his development by looking by no means out of his depth, and Alejandro Garnacho for Sancho, added a further element of freshness.
Credit: Oli Scarff via Getty Images
United kept on plugging away as the half progressed, and this was pristinely exemplified by the buildup to Antony's go-ahead goal.
Shaw could very well have given up on reaching Lisandro Martinez's raking long pass, but he showed endeavour, which encapsulated the side's drive, to keep the ball alive with a backheel. Fernandes then shrugged off Raphinha, and after efforts from Garnacho and Fred were blocked, Antony guided the ball past Ter Stegen - first-time on his left foot.
Antony's impact after being introduced at half-time was invaluable. United look more sound structurally with him in the side, and he added dynamism to the attack, finding space in behind and troubling the Barca defence.
It was the 19th goal scored by a substitute in all competitions for United this season - the most across Europe's top five leagues and a reflection of Ten Hag's ability to change entire games with his in-game management.
United's desire to hold onto their lead was unwavering. Martinez's combative nature was crucial given his ability to win duels and reach every loose ball, with Raphael Varane's composed yet domineering presence complementing his partner's aggression superbly.
Fred was absolutely pivotal for United too - alongside the ever-reliable Casemiro. His tenacity is nigh on unmatched, with absolutely everything left out on the pitch as he engages in battle every time he plays. This sometimes doesn't translate to the best performances, but against Barca he was faultlessly disrupting opposing attacks and making tackles in all sorts of different areas - such is his application to covering ground.
In possession, Fred was more accurate than usual too. His goal marked his third in eight games, adding to three assists across that period. While he can be frustrating, Fred's character is an embodiment of what is making the present squad so likeable for fans.
Credit: Soccrates Images via Getty Images
The release at full-time felt meaningful.
Casemiro, despite having won everything there is to win during his time at Real Madrid, was on his knees in celebration after the second goal, and his celebrations post-match were full of passion. Irrespective of anything else, the current crop of players are clearly completely devoted to fighting with every inch of their being for the badge.
The personality that has developed in the squad, in part because of laudable recruitment of characters, which both Ten Hag and those behind the scenes deserve credit for, is a big part of the reason why a bond has been restored between players and fans.
At full-time, there was a parade of celebration from the United players, with Old Trafford still near enough entirely full as the whistle blew. Varane conducted the crowd with fist pumps - something that is becoming a ritual after big victories, and another representation of the relationship between players and fans.
Smiles all round from the players, whose collective celebrations showed the camaraderie within the squad, presented the establishment of genuine happiness again this term. "I love this guy, you know," De Gea said of Fernandes in an interview with MUTV, which was telling of this team ethic.
This was all after a Europa League playoff match, but such is the players' commitment to every game and their drive for any silverware, this was all forgotten. And after all, defeating Barca, who are eight points clear of Real Madrid, who beat Liverpool 5-2 on Tuesday, in La Liga, is no mean feat.
Even Ten Hag, whose attitude is almost always to possess tunnel vision and look nowhere other than forward, admitted that it was the biggest win of the season.
There is no doubt a sense of something really special brewing at United.
Credit: Quality Sport Images via Getty Images
It is now 18 games unbeaten at Old Trafford for United, with 16 wins across that period - stretching back to early September.
Ten Hag's side are a win against Chelsea away from having beaten all of the rest of the 'big six' at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season, and Barcelona have now been added to that list of sides felled on home turf.
Still so early in this rebuilding process, Old Trafford is being built back into a fortress again.
And what's more? United now have a Carabao Cup final to look forward to - in large part to their strength at home having played at Old Trafford in each round of the competition.
Come Sunday, they have a shot at silverware to show for the stark transformation that has been undergone this term. But whatever happens at Wembley, Ten Hag deserves massive credit for steering Manchester United back to a place where there is clear unity once again.
Comments