Picking up the pieces

UNITED FIGHT BACK FOR DRAMATIC DERBY VICTORY

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

BRUNO Fernandes tried to bury himself in the turf. Amad hoisted him back to his feet. Then it was Fernandes and Amad who picked Manchester United up.

Fernandes' fluffed finish from Rasmus Hojlund's threaded pass appeared to be United's last chance. But this Manchester City side is a giver of chances and United had two more.

Within two minutes, City imploded.

Three points were reduced to one.

Then to none. Amad, already a cult figure with the United followers for his unforgettable FA Cup quarter-final winner against Liverpool, has now claimed the added-time scalp of City.

He won the penalty Fernandes nervelessly converted and seconds later adroitly cushioned the ball past Ederson and audaciously and cutely tucked the ball in from an acute angle. Amad was soon smothered by United starters and substitutes. Martinez, responsible for the assist, belatedly charged up the pitch to join in.

"You're getting sacked in the morning," hollered the United fans at a dumbfounded Pep Guardiola. This was a win almost as sweet as the title-denying derby at the Etihad in 2018. This is a win at City to rank with 1993, 2010 and 2018.

The United fans soon serenaded Ruben Amorim, ending his request to stop serenading him. Amorim will not mind that on this, his first derby. He is also responsible for two of the eight defeats City have suffered in their past 11 matches.

For the United chief executive Omar Berrada, back on his old stomping ground, this was the most compelling evidence as to why he made a beeline for Amorim in late October. It might have been Amorim in the Etihad home dugout last season. Some City fans who were in attendance may wish he was.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to see United win away," the Reds chorused at full-time.

This was United's first win at City since March 2021, when the turnstiles were locked amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This meant so much more.