Red Rebels: The New Manchester United

A magnificent comeback.

An unforgettable victory.

A furious second-half assault.

The return of the champions.

By the following morning, newspapers across Europe were celebrating New Manchester United's extraordinary recovery against Chelsea.

Two goals down at half-time, badly out of form and facing the league leaders, the Red Rebels had scored five times in forty-five minutes to complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds of the season.

They had also completed a league double over Chelsea.

Martin Tyler devoted much of his column to the match.

"On the surface, this result may not radically alter the league table," he wrote. "But it may prove to be the most important victory of New Manchester United's season."

"They were under enormous pressure, their confidence had been damaged and they were facing arguably the strongest side in England. Yet after falling 2-0 behind, they produced five second-half goals and defended an unbeaten home record that has become part of the club's identity."

Tyler was equally dismissive of those who had written Mourinho's side off.

"Anyone who believes New Manchester United are simply going to disappear after one difficult month should reconsider. No team has scored five goals against Chelsea in a single half this season."

"Chelsea may still win the Premier League. They may even end the year without a trophy. Neither possibility changes what we saw."

"New Manchester United reminded everyone exactly what they are capable of."

He continued:

"There is a particular kind of courage associated with this side. A particular intensity. A willingness to keep attacking when a match appears lost."

"For most of the previous month, those qualities seemed to have vanished."

"In the second half against Chelsea, they returned."

Tyler also devoted considerable attention to Mourinho's decisions.

At half-time, with Beckham injured and his side already two goals down, Mourinho had resisted the obvious temptation to restore control conservatively.

Instead, he introduced Drogba and changed the structure to accommodate two forwards.

That decision immediately increased the physical pressure on Chelsea's centre-backs and gave New Manchester United a reference point around which the rest of the attack could move.

Drogba had not scored until late in the match, but his presence changed its entire character.

Then came Mourinho's second gamble.

After the score reached 2-2, Ancelotti tried to stabilise Chelsea by introducing Ricardo Carvalho as an additional defensive presence in midfield.

Mourinho responded by taking off Vidić and sending on Fàbregas.

It was a remarkable decision.

A centre-back off.

Another creator on.

No interest in protecting the draw.

Fàbregas then helped change the game, bringing greater clarity to the Red Rebels' possession before playing a major part in the final three goals.

For Tyler, the match was already a contender for the most tactically fascinating Premier League game of the season.

The second half in particular was difficult to forget.

More importantly, he believed the result had changed the league title race.

"Was Chelsea already being fitted for the crown before February 6?" he wrote.

"Perhaps."

"After this match, absolutely not."

New Manchester United's players felt the same way.

Terry, who had captained the side after Beckham was forced off, spoke confidently after the match.

"Our bad run is behind us now," he said.

"This has to be the match that changes our season."

Chelsea still held an eight-point advantage over New Manchester United, but Terry did not consider that decisive.

"Eight points is a lot, but it isn't impossible."

He smiled.

"We were two goals down today and scored five in the second half."

"If we can recover from that, then we can recover eight points."

Terry also dismissed the increasingly wild stories about divisions inside Newton Heath.

"There isn't a split in this dressing room."

"People argue about football because everyone wants to win. That's normal."

"But when we walk onto the pitch, we're together."

He paused.

"We all want the same thing."

"The championship."

"When everybody shares that objective, the rest becomes much easier."

Even during New Manchester United's slump, Terry had remained one of the team's most consistent players.

His performances had now established him firmly among England's leading centre-backs.

Sven-Göran Eriksson included him in the latest England squad, which would gather for a friendly before the World Cup qualifiers resumed in March.

Curtis was recalled as well, although Eriksson still appeared to favour Rio Ferdinand and Terry as his first-choice pairing.

Beckham missed the camp because of his injury.

His absence created room for another Red Rebel.

Ishmael received his first senior England call-up.

Nobody expected the teenager to become an immediate starter, but the selection was significant.

Eriksson clearly wanted a closer look at him before the competitive internationals resumed.

The morning after the Chelsea match, BBC's Premier League highlights programme gave the comeback extensive coverage.

Sky Sports went even further, producing a dedicated analysis of the match.

Most of the discussion centred on Mourinho's two major second-half substitutions.

The experts were broadly in agreement.

Ancelotti had not made an obvious tactical error.

Chelsea had not collapsed because their manager had suddenly lost control of the match.

New Manchester United had simply produced an extraordinary half of football.

Five goals.

Five different scorers.

The result took their Premier League total to 65 goals after 26 matches.

No team in England had scored more.

Across Europe's major leagues, very few could match them.

And the remarkable thing was that New Manchester United did not depend on one prolific striker.

Thierry Henry led the Premier League scoring chart with 21 goals from 26 matches.

Shevchenko followed with 18.

Crystal Palace's Andy Johnson had 16, although half of those had come from penalties.

Then came Kaká.

The Brazilian had scored 13 league goals.

Villa had 12.

Beckham had 10 and remained among the division's leading scorers despite operating primarily from deep midfield.

Drogba, Ronaldo, Robben and Ishmael had all scored more than five.

Essien, Agüero, Messi, De Rossi and Ribéry had contributed as well.

That distribution was one of the Red Rebels' greatest strengths.

This season's tactical refinements had particularly benefited Kaká.

His late runs from midfield were becoming increasingly difficult to track, and he had emerged as the club's leading scorer.

Yet New Manchester United did not depend exclusively on him.

Stop Kaká and Villa might score.

Close down Villa and Ronaldo might arrive from the flank.

Track Ronaldo and Messi could exploit the other side.

Then there was Drogba.

Or Beckham from a set piece.

Or Essien arriving late.

The variety made them extremely difficult to defend against.

Their defensive numbers were almost as impressive.

Chelsea had entered the match with the strongest defensive record in the Premier League.

Conceding five in one half changed that.

New Manchester United now possessed the league's best defensive record.

Arsenal's back line remained more vulnerable than either of them.

Hangeland had been consistently strong, but Campbell's fitness and Cygan's inconsistency meant Wenger's defence still carried weaknesses that could surface without warning.

Elsewhere, another Manchester club continued to attract attention.

Van Gaal's Manchester City had transformed dramatically since his arrival.

Before Christmas, they had looked like relegation candidates.

Since the managerial change, they had become one of the league's most difficult teams to beat.

The improvement had begun with the 0-0 draw against New Manchester United.

Then came a home victory over West Bromwich Albion.

A draw away to Arsenal followed.

Then a win over Crystal Palace.

The January spending spree strengthened them further.

In early February, Zlatan Ibrahimović scored twice against Newcastle to give City another home victory, a result that pushed Newcastle deeper into relegation trouble.

In the following round, Everton travelled to Gigg Lane.

This time, the outstanding player was Yaya Touré.

The former Red Rebel produced two assists and scored himself, while Ibrahimović struck twice for the second successive league match.

Manchester City were climbing rapidly.

By then they had reached eighth place.

Speaking afterwards, Ibrahimović said he believed City should be aiming much higher.

"This club should be playing in the Champions League," he declared.

Asked about his first Manchester derby against Manchester United, the Swedish striker made his ambitions equally clear.

"I want to score."

"And I think we can beat them."

Ninety minutes later, Gigg Lane was full of celebrating Manchester United supporters.

Van Gaal had prepared carefully and tried to restrict Ferguson's attacking options, but Manchester United remained the more experienced and accomplished side.

Ibrahimović was completely isolated.

He barely influenced the match and received one of the lowest player ratings afterwards.

Manchester United won 2-0.

At the same time, New Manchester United were away at West Bromwich Albion.

The Red Rebels started slowly.

For much of the opening half-hour, they looked more like the side that had struggled through January than the one that had overwhelmed Chelsea.

Gradually, however, their rhythm returned.

Shortly before half-time, Kaká changed the match.

He collected possession centrally, drove through the defence and finished the move himself.

0-1.

The second goal came from the right.

Maicon combined with Messi before delivering a low ball across the area.

Drogba deliberately moved towards the near side, dragging a centre-back with him.

The space opened behind.

Ronaldo attacked it.

Unmarked, he met the pass first time and finished beyond the goalkeeper.

0-2.

After the interval, New Manchester United took complete control.

West Brom retreated deeper and deeper, turning the match into an extended exercise in breaking down a compact defensive block.

For a while, they resisted.

Then, in the 71st minute, Evra delivered a diagonal cross towards the middle.

Drogba attacked it powerfully.

Header.

Goal.

0-3.

The match was over.

Mourinho still wanted more.

Fàbregas had replaced Beckham but was having a relatively quiet afternoon.

The Spaniard worked hard and circulated the ball intelligently, but for most of the match he struggled to find the final pass.

Just before full-time, that changed.

Fàbregas received possession and waited for the defensive line to move.

Then he slipped a perfectly weighted pass between the centre-backs.

Kaká had already begun his run from deeper midfield.

The Brazilian raced onto it, rounded the goalkeeper and rolled the ball into the empty net.

0-4.

Another emphatic victory.

This one was less dramatic than the Chelsea comeback, but perhaps more reassuring.

New Manchester United had not relied on emotion.

They had started slowly, remained patient, found control and then dismantled their opponent.

The press took notice.

After weeks of instability, Mourinho's team finally looked capable of managing a difficult match without forcing everything immediately.

Chelsea continued winning too.

Their trip to Everton proved much harder than expected.

Moyes's side caused Ancelotti repeated problems, and for most of the match it appeared likely to finish goalless.

Then, late on, Verón struck from distance.

0-1.

Chelsea escaped with all three points.

Elsewhere, New Manchester United received another welcome result.

Liverpool travelled to Birmingham and suffered an unexpected 2-0 defeat to Steve Bruce's side.

The result reopened some breathing room between Liverpool and the Red Rebels in the battle for Champions League qualification.

After the 27th league round, domestic football paused for international friendlies.

Several New Manchester United players were due to join their national teams.

Mourinho, however, had already been speaking with Eriksson.

The first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Barcelona was scheduled for February 22.

With that fixture approaching, Mourinho had no intention of allowing his England internationals to play unnecessary minutes.

An agreement was reached.

Several would be limited to roughly one half of football.

Beckham was expected to return around the same period.

He had already missed one league match because of the injury suffered against Chelsea.

Whether he would be fit enough to face Barcelona remained uncertain.

Nobody at Newton Heath intended to rush him.

Mourinho, however, was already completely focused on the tie.

The schedule favoured New Manchester United.

The first leg would be played in Barcelona.

The return would be in Manchester.

That gave the Red Rebels a margin for calculation.

Avoid a heavy defeat at the Camp Nou and they would still have every chance of turning the tie around at home.

That was the sensible approach.

Mourinho understood it perfectly.

He simply did not like thinking that way.

He did not want to travel to Barcelona hoping merely to survive.

He wanted to win.

(To be continued.)