Oh to have been a fly on the wall in the away dressing room.
Jose Mourinho turned to an old Chelsea team talk to inspire his Manchester United players to victory after a first half to forget at the Etihad Stadium.
United were dominated for the opening 45 minutes of Saturday’s derby match but came out firing after the break, scoring three unanswered goals to ensure that Manchester City would have to wait to celebrate their inevitable Premier League triumph.
But it wasn’t just a rousing speech from Mourinho that motivated the visitors because it’s been revealed that left-back Ashley Young played a huge role in lighting a fire under his teammates.
Young was not going to go down without a fight and several challenges from the 32-year-old in the second half epitomised the intensity that he wanted to see from his fellow United players.
“The City fans are shouting ‘Olé’ and they’re embarrassing us. Are we going to stand for that?” Young is quoted as saying at half-time by the Times.
“Remember your responsibilities to the fans and the badge. Show some pride and fight for each other.”
Midfielder Ander Herrera provided further insight into what went down in the away dressing room at the break, as he’s revealed that Michael Carrick also reminded the United players what was expected of them.
“Everyone [spoke],” Herrera said.
“Of course the oldest guys with the most experience – Ash, Mike was in the dressing room – they have the power in their words but everyone was talking.
“We didn’t talk too much about tactics, just about our pride and about the club – this club you can never underestimate it.
“Our pride on the pitch and that our fans were going to have a difficult night if we got beaten.
“We did it for them and of course for us and our position but overall for them. I was thinking at half-time that it was going to be difficult for them if we got beaten so I’m happy for them.”
