The match against Arsenal at Old Trafford arrived with surprisingly little fanfare. New Manchester United's recent form had been uneven, while Arsenal were flying after emphatic victories over Middlesbrough and Manchester City. They came to Manchester on a winning streak and with revenge very much on their minds.
Vieira had already told the media that Arsenal saw this match as an opportunity to settle the score. Wenger struck a similar tone, insisting that the humiliating defeat at Highbury had been an aberration. He believed his players had moved beyond it, and promised that Old Trafford would see a very different Arsenal side.
Villas-Boas' scouting report showed that Arsenal had indeed altered their system. Bergkamp had dropped out of the starting eleven, with Henry operating as the lone striker. Reyes and Ljungberg played from the flanks, Pires moved into the attacking midfield role, and Vieira partnered Gilberto Silva in a double pivot. The back four remained largely unchanged.
That setup had produced convincing 4-1 and 6-1 victories over Middlesbrough and Manchester City, cutting New Manchester United's lead at the top to three points. If Arsenal won the direct encounter at Old Trafford, they would draw level on points and reopen the title race completely.
At his pre-match press conference, Mourinho remained unimpressed by the attention surrounding Arsenal's recent form.
"We'll attack at home," he said. "We're not going to change our football because Arsenal have won a couple of matches."
He then smiled when asked whether Arsenal's new system concerned him.
"Everyone is talking about their big wins, but nobody mentions that they've conceded four goals in their last five league matches. Their defensive problems haven't disappeared. Ashley Cole's absence was not the main reason they lost heavily to us at Highbury. If they haven't solved the problems in their defence, they still won't beat us."
The media interpreted Mourinho's confidence as a reflection of his improving squad situation. Terry's domestic suspension had ended, while Drogba, Essien, Kolo Touré, and Yaya Touré had returned from international duty. After weeks of limited options, Mourinho finally had room to choose.
His starting eleven reflected that freedom. Čech was in goal, with Evra, Vidić, Curtis, and Maicon across the back. Beckham partnered De Rossi in midfield, Kaká played ahead of them, Cristiano Ronaldo and Palacio started on the wings, and Drogba led the line.
Kolo Touré and Essien had only just returned from African international duty, and The Lab considered neither of them fully ready to start such an intense match. Maicon and De Rossi, meanwhile, had both been performing extremely well, so Mourinho chose continuity.
Terry was a different case. After such a long absence from domestic football, what he needed most was match rhythm. Throwing him straight into one of the most important league fixtures of the season would have been an unnecessary gamble, especially when Vidić had performed so well and developed an increasingly strong partnership with Curtis.
Unless circumstances changed dramatically, Mourinho expected Terry, Curtis, and Vidić to rotate as his three principal centre-backs next season, with Chiellini providing further depth. The young Italian had made obvious progress, but he was not yet ready to displace any of the three consistently. Mourinho nevertheless valued him highly. At an elite club, the players outside the preferred eleven often determined how far a season could go, and a team competing across several competitions needed at least three high-level centre-backs. Four was even better.
For this particular match, Mourinho believed he had selected the strongest and most suitable side available.
The tactical plan was equally straightforward. New Manchester United would push forward and force Arsenal's defence into mistakes. If Arsenal refused to make them voluntarily, Mourinho intended to create the situations in which mistakes became inevitable.
...
Wenger knew perfectly well where Arsenal's weaknesses lay.
He had admired Curtis for some time. The young centre-back had been one of the best defenders in the Premier League that season, particularly during Terry's suspension, and Wenger would gladly have taken him to Highbury if the opportunity had existed.
Arsenal's own options were less convincing. Campbell remained dependable, but Keown was ageing and Cygan had never offered the same sense of security. Wenger knew that the lack of another top-class centre-back was limiting his side, which was why Arsenal had already begun exploring a move for Chelsea's French defender William Gallas. At the same time, Wenger continued to develop Philippe Senderos internally.
Against New Manchester United, however, those long-term plans offered no help. His immediate concern was surviving one of the most dangerous attacks in England. Mourinho's side had too much pace, movement, and individual quality to be given even a small opening. Once a defender made a mistake, their attackers were quick enough to punish it.
Wenger therefore used Vieira and Gilberto Silva to protect the back four, with Pires linking midfield and attack and Henry given as much freedom as possible in the final third. The revised formation had overwhelmed several Premier League opponents, but against New Manchester United it still lacked familiarity.
In the 34th minute, after nearly half an hour of sustained pressure, the home side finally broke through.
Palacio received the ball on the right, beat Ashley Cole, and cut inside. Cygan stepped across too late and brought him down inside the penalty area. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation.
Palacio took the penalty himself and scored.
1-0.
The lead survived until half-time.
Wenger made adjustments during the interval and ordered his players to press much more aggressively in New Manchester United's defensive third. The change caught Mourinho's side cold.
Soon after the restart, Maicon attempted a back-pass on the right. Henry anticipated it, intercepted, accelerated past Vidić, and drove into the penalty area before squaring for Pires. The Frenchman arrived unmarked and finished one-on-one.
1-1.
The equaliser lifted Arsenal immediately. Their attacking intensity increased, while New Manchester United gradually dropped a little deeper.
Paradoxically, that made Mourinho's side more dangerous.
With more space to work in, their positional movement became increasingly fluid. Drogba repeatedly dropped away from the centre-backs to link play, creating channels for Cristiano Ronaldo and Palacio to attack inside from the flanks. Kaká timed his forward runs from midfield, while Beckham looked for opportunities to release runners early.
In the 68th minute, Campbell cleared long from inside Arsenal's penalty area. Beckham brought the ball down on his chest and immediately switched play diagonally towards the left.
Cristiano Ronaldo controlled ahead of Lauren, shaped as though he would go outside, then cut sharply past him and burst into the box. Palacio had already attacked the open space in the middle. Cristiano found him with the pass, and Palacio finished cleanly.
2-1.
Once back in front, New Manchester United became far more composed. They did not retreat completely, nor did they chase a third goal recklessly. They simply controlled the pace and waited for Arsenal to expose themselves.
Arsenal's defensive problems became increasingly obvious. Several promising New Manchester United attacks nearly produced another goal, but Vieira and Campbell repeatedly intervened at the crucial moment.
At the other end, Arsenal struggled to create anything of real quality.
The final whistle confirmed a 2-1 victory and gave New Manchester United a league double over Arsenal in their first Premier League season. It also extended an extraordinary record against the division's leading clubs. In six matches against the other sides near the top of the table, Mourinho's team had now recorded five wins and one draw.
The victory over Arsenal was satisfying, but elsewhere Manchester United also collected three points.
Their match against Everton had been extraordinary. Manchester United scored three times inside the opening half-hour and appeared to have finished the contest before half-time. Moyes adjusted after the break, however, and Everton responded with three goals of their own in roughly half an hour, turning the match into a frantic contest.
Only in the closing moments did Van Nistelrooy settle it, scoring his second goal of the game to secure the win.
January signing Louis Saha also scored twice, taking his tally to three goals in his first two appearances and immediately justifying the attention surrounding his arrival.
...
Three days after beating Arsenal, New Manchester United travelled north to face Leeds United.
Once one of the most exciting young teams in England and Europe, Leeds were now trapped in a financial crisis and fighting relegation. They were level on points with newly promoted Leicester City but sat bottom of the table and looked increasingly likely to go down.
Ethan had admired Leeds in his previous life, but sentiment meant very little now. New Manchester United were in a title race, and every point mattered.
After the physical and emotional demands of the Arsenal match, Mourinho rotated several players. Even so, New Manchester United were strong enough to beat a determined Leeds side 2-0.
Once the result appeared secure, Mourinho introduced Terry in the 65th minute. The idea was simple: give him time at Premier League pace without placing him under maximum pressure. He was also included in the squad for the next FA Cup tie.
Four days later, on February 15, New Manchester United travelled to London to face Fulham in the FA Cup.
Mourinho again selected a side dominated by reserves and younger players. Terry started at centre-back and completed the full ninety minutes, partnering Chiellini. The pair performed reasonably well and gave Fulham plenty of trouble, but New Manchester United ultimately lost 2-1 and were eliminated.
Their League Cup and FA Cup campaigns had therefore both ended without a trophy, but Mourinho had learned a great deal from them. Ishmael Miller, Messi, Michael Johnson, John Obi Mikel, and Fàbregas had all received meaningful first-team minutes and shown significant potential.
Ishmael, Messi, and Fàbregas were already regular members of the senior matchday squad, and it seemed inevitable that their roles would increase as they matured. Michael Johnson and Mikel were not far behind.
The youngsters had lost in London, but a few days later the senior side took revenge in Manchester.
Fulham had been forced to rotate after playing twice in a week, one match at home and one away. When they arrived at Old Trafford to face New Manchester United's strongest available eleven, the difference was brutal.
6-0.
It was New Manchester United's biggest victory of the season.
With Fulham dealt with, Mourinho immediately turned his attention back to Europe.
The UEFA Cup Round of 32 would be played over two legs, with New Manchester United at home first and away second. In theory, that was a slight disadvantage. Mourinho, however, preferred to think of it differently.
He wanted the tie decided at Old Trafford.
During the tactical meeting before the first leg, Villas-Boas highlighted PSV Eindhoven's two most dangerous players.
Mateja Kežman.
Mark van Bommel.
Ethan remembered both very clearly from his previous life.
Kežman had come close to winning the European Golden Shoe the previous season after scoring thirty-five goals in thirty-three Eredivisie matches. He remained prolific this year and was again leading the Dutch scoring charts, making him one of the most talked-about forwards in Europe.
Van Bommel was a different type of threat. Tough, aggressive, technically accomplished, and capable of influencing both phases of the game, he embodied the traditional image of an all-action Dutch midfielder.
PSV placed enormous faith in Kežman. He had performed well in the Champions League group stage despite the club dropping into the UEFA Cup, and his goals had already attracted interest from larger European sides.
There was another reason for tension between the clubs.
Frank Arnesen had previously clashed with New Manchester United in the transfer market, and seeing Robben on Mourinho's team sheet only reopened the wound. The Dutch winger had once been one of PSV's most highly valued young players, yet New Manchester United had signed him before PSV could build their future around him.
Worse still from Arnesen's perspective, Robben was not even guaranteed a starting place in Manchester.
"New Manchester United aren't as strong as people make them out to be," Arnesen told the media. "We'll beat them because we have Kežman."
There was more than a hint of defiance in the statement, as though praising Kežman could somehow make losing Robben hurt less.
For once, Mourinho refused to engage in a public argument before the match.
But when it came to choosing his team, he had no objection to rubbing salt into the wound.
(To be continued.)