The Sway of the Derby

Saturday's Manchester Derby was not an enthralling game of football. Before Mbeumo's goal, it was a game full of fruitless possession and devoid of a cutting edge from either team. And yet, you couldn't take your eyes off it. The inevitability of a Manchester City win that loomed at kickoff began to teeter as the minutes went by. The ball found United feet with magnetism before any City threats could formulate. Old Trafford roared as the Red Devils probed, jabbed, and frustrated. The quality of play was completely covered up by the narrative of the event.

A derby win is worth three points, just like any other game. There are unquantifiable rewards, though. Those rewards are often invaluable too. You can't put a price on Sir Alex Ferguson smiling and celebrating in the stands. You can't put a price on the eruption of noise as Mbeumo's strike rippled the net. Those were moments that United players and supporters won't soon forget. I argue that those moments were way more valuable than the three points.

Derby matches offer a chance to shift the narrative in a way that other matches don't. The mood around Premier League clubs swings back and forth like a pendulum. It's always been that way, and it always will be. That pendulum string lengthens when a derby match arrives. The highest highs and lowest lows often occur under such conditions. Emotions run at their highest and hope shifts the farthest.

Manchester United capitalized on their chance to redefine themselves, even if temporarily. They put the chaos aside and showed fight. They ran City ragged and eventually exposed them with ease. By the final whistle, you'd think they were the tiki-taka experts. Time will tell if Saturday's moments can become a catalyst for rebirth. It doesn't matter what it becomes right now, the moment was good enough on its own.

This weekend was a reminder of the sway of a derby. That it can shift emotions and attitudes no matter how long they've reigned. That it can make you wake up at 5:30 am even without a dog in the fight, just because you need to witness it. Not only witness it — you need to feel it. You need to feel the queasiness of the usually imperious City. You need to feel United's flint and steel colliding and wonder if it's ignited a fire. Only a derby can do that to someone, and that's why we love them and dread them.