"Beckham takes it short instead of sending it into the penalty area. Cristiano Ronaldo comes across to receive, lays it back inside, Essien charges onto it and shoots... wide!"
"What a shame. Essien's long-range effort flashed just past the post. That must have given Howard a scare. With several tall players waiting in the box, Beckham chose not to cross. Instead, they worked a short routine and created a shooting opportunity for Essien from distance."
"It came completely out of nowhere. Both chances New Manchester United have created in the opening minute have been sudden and incisive," Martin Tyler said.
"And both of them have gone through Beckham."
Howard restarted play with a goal kick, sending the ball long.
Curtis rose above Van Nistelrooy and headed it back towards midfield. Drogba, tightly marked by Ferdinand, failed to win the next aerial challenge.
Ferdinand's clearance did not travel far.
Curtis had already pushed up and won the second ball, heading it towards Essien.
Essien immediately moved it on to Beckham.
Beckham did not hesitate.
He controlled the ball and instantly swept a diagonal pass towards the right flank, bypassing Manchester United's midfield and defensive shape.
Palacio accelerated past Fortune.
Just as he was about to meet the pass, the referee blew his whistle and the assistant raised his flag.
Offside.
Palacio turned and gave Beckham a thumbs-up.
He had simply made his run a fraction too early. Had he delayed for another moment, the pass would have sent him clean through.
"It's obvious that New Manchester United want to attack Manchester United's full-backs," Andy Gray said. "Left-back has been an area of concern for United for some time, and with Gary Neville injured, Phil Neville has never offered quite the same level on the right."
"But Manchester United are very dangerous from wide areas themselves. Mourinho's plan is clear. He wants Beckham using those diagonal passes to attack the spaces around their full-backs."
Neither attack had produced a goal, but they had already achieved what Mourinho wanted.
Manchester United were beginning to drop deeper to protect the flanks.
That was also one of the reasons Ferguson had selected Butt alongside Keane.
New Manchester United kept switching the point of attack.
Under Beckham's direction, the movement from side to side was quick and unpredictable.
At times they appeared determined to attack Phil Neville repeatedly on Manchester United's right.
Then, the moment Fortune left even a little too much space on the opposite flank, Beckham would switch the ball and Palacio would immediately threaten from the other side.
As a result, Manchester United found themselves pinned back almost from the opening whistle.
"Beckham has been extremely influential in midfield," Martin Tyler said. "His distribution has been excellent, particularly those diagonal passes. I'd love to know what Ferguson is thinking on the touchline after watching Beckham perform like this for the first fifteen minutes."
"The reaction in the stands is interesting too," Andy Gray added. "Whenever Beckham gets the ball, the cheers are clearly coming from New Manchester United's supporters. There are plenty of banners supporting him."
"And the boos are coming from Manchester United's more loyal supporters."
Martin Tyler laughed.
"There are plenty of people caught somewhere in between as well."
"For years, Manchester only really had Manchester United and Manchester City. City were less successful, but they retained a very loyal following. United dominated English football, but that also made them a target for criticism."
"Now New Manchester United have emerged with outstanding results and a strong public image, and they've naturally attracted plenty of supporters of their own."
"I've also heard Manchester City will play some of their home fixtures outside central Manchester this season, up in Bury," Andy Gray said. "So as far as local attention is concerned, the biggest Manchester rivalry this year may well be New Manchester United against Manchester United."
The two commentators continued discussing the wider story around the fixture, but on the pitch the match remained intense.
...
Manchester United had heard plenty about New Manchester United's Magic Four.
Before the match, Ferguson had made specific plans to disrupt the understanding between the four attacking players.
That was one of the reasons he had selected Butt and Keane together.
Once the match began, however, Ferguson quickly discovered that stopping them was far easier in theory than in practice.
Drogba was not the most prolific striker in the squad, but after three years with New Manchester United, he had become completely integrated into Mourinho's system.
He covered enormous ground.
He pressed defenders aggressively.
He fought for second balls.
And his link-up play was excellent.
Behind him, Kaká's direct running through the centre was sharp and dangerous.
The four attacking players often appeared to form a diamond.
But the shape never remained fixed.
Their understanding allowed them to constantly rotate, stretch, narrow, and reshape the attacking structure.
Whenever one of them spotted a weakness in Manchester United's defence, the others reacted immediately.
And the clearest weakness at that moment was Phil Neville.
He was already on a yellow card.
Ferguson did not blame him for the booking.
Given the situation, Phil Neville had made the sensible choice.
Had he allowed Cristiano Ronaldo into the penalty area, stopping him without conceding a penalty would have become far more difficult.
Even so, New Manchester United were not limiting themselves to that side.
Palacio remained extremely active on the opposite flank.
Whenever Fortune was caught even slightly out of position, Beckham immediately looked for him.
Standing on the touchline, Ferguson watched New Manchester United's players with obvious appreciation.
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Palacio.
Robben.
Kaká.
Essien.
Curtis.
Terry.
Evra.
Kolo Touré.
Čech.
Almost every player in their starting eleven was someone Ferguson would happily have taken at Manchester United.
Any one of them could strengthen his squad.
The only player who did not immediately tempt him was Drogba.
Yet even Drogba, who looked less spectacular than some of the others, was clearly essential to Mourinho's system.
That was exactly why Mourinho had started him ahead of the more clinical David Villa.
"Ethan, Ethan..." Ferguson muttered to himself. "Where the hell did you find all these players?"
Queiroz, standing nearby, only caught part of it.
"What was that, gaffer?"
In another version of events, Queiroz might have been coaching Real Madrid by now.
Instead, Del Bosque was still sitting in the Bernabéu dugout.
"Nothing," Ferguson replied. "Tell Giggs and Solskjær to drop a little deeper and help the full-backs."
Queiroz nodded and went to pass on the instruction.
Ferguson looked across towards Mourinho, who had also stepped out of his technical area.
Mourinho happened to glance back.
He smiled briefly, then returned his attention to the pitch.
Ferguson narrowed his eyes.
"This one's no fool either."
...
Twenty minutes into the first half, New Manchester United still controlled most of the match and continued to push Manchester United backwards.
That did not mean United were incapable of threatening on the counter.
One break almost caused serious trouble.
Van Nistelrooy drifted outside the penalty area to receive the ball.
As he turned and tried to drive towards the box, Curtis came across with a powerful sliding challenge and won the ball cleanly.
Van Nistelrooy stayed down and appealed for a foul, claiming the challenge had taken place inside the penalty area.
The referee was not interested.
Instead, he booked Van Nistelrooy for simulation and gave Curtis a warning about the force of his tackles.
Curtis nodded.
As he walked past Van Nistelrooy, however, there was a clear challenge in his expression.
If you want something, earn it.
Van Nistelrooy paid little attention.
He shook his head and jogged back into position.
For most of the opening twenty minutes, New Manchester United had repeatedly targeted Manchester United's right side.
Phil Neville was already booked.
There was no reason to stop attacking him.
Beckham, meanwhile, looked nothing like the player who had struggled during some of the preseason friendlies.
From central midfield, he kept organising one attack after another.
Left.
Right.
Short.
Long.
His passing continually forced Manchester United's defence to adjust.
Butt and Keane were regularly pulled towards the flanks to help.
Giggs and Solskjær were also tracking back.
That extra defensive work was one of the main reasons Howard's goal remained intact.
Then, in the 28th minute, the breakthrough finally came.
New Manchester United had just seen an attack down Manchester United's left break down.
Fortune reacted quickly and launched Beckham's long pass clear.
Curtis stepped forward and won the first ball, heading it towards Essien.
Essien carried possession forward.
Scholes moved across to close him down.
Before the challenge arrived, Essien slipped the ball to Beckham.
Beckham drove into Manchester United's half.
Roy Keane tracked him closely.
Beckham exchanged a sharp one-two with Kaká.
The return pass released Kaká beyond Keane.
Kaká immediately accelerated through the centre.
Silvestre stepped forward to stop him.
Too aggressively.
Kaká recognised it at once.
He combined quickly with Beckham again, using a crisp return pass to move beyond Silvestre.
Before Ferdinand could step across, Kaká slipped the ball towards Drogba.
Drogba controlled it with his left foot.
Then he struck with his right.
The entire move happened in one fluid sequence.
The shot flew low and hard towards the bottom-left corner.
Howard read the direction correctly.
It did not matter.
The ball was struck with too much power.
1-0.
Drogba exploded in celebration.
He ran straight towards Kaká, dropped to one knee, grabbed the Brazilian's right boot, the same foot that had supplied the pass, and wiped it repeatedly with the front of his shirt.
Kaká burst out laughing.
Then Drogba stood and embraced him as the rest of their teammates arrived to celebrate.
"Who says Drogba is just a brute?" Andy Gray exclaimed. "Look at that first touch and then the finish. That is top-class centre-forward play."
"There was nothing fancy about the strike, but that's exactly why it was so effective. Power, accuracy, and no hesitation. Howard had almost no chance."
Martin Tyler was smiling as he watched the replay.
"Kaká deserves enormous credit as well. Silvestre was far too aggressive there. Against a player like Kaká, the priority has to be delaying him and holding your position, not diving in trying to win the ball."
"The moment Silvestre stepped out recklessly, Kaká punished him."
"And look at Beckham's involvement before that," Tyler continued. "That quick exchange with Kaká in a tight area was excellent. Very fast, very clean, and it allowed Kaká to attack Silvestre while the defence was still trying to reorganise."
Andy Gray watched the slow-motion replay again.
"I'll admit, I didn't realise Beckham had that kind of close control and combination play."
"People sometimes forget how technically strong he was at Manchester United," Martin Tyler replied. "He was never inferior technically to Giggs. They simply had very different styles."
"And since joining New Manchester United, Beckham has obviously done a lot of specific work to adapt to this system."
Tyler pointed towards the replay.
"Look at the understanding between him and Kaká. You'd think they had been playing together for years."
"Even Scholes may not combine with Beckham in exactly that way."
Andy Gray nodded.
Manchester United's football had always placed great emphasis on quick passing and movement without the ball.
It was expansive.
Direct.
Designed to stretch opponents.
But they rarely relied on such rapid combinations in crowded central areas.
New Manchester United had found a way to blend both approaches.
Perhaps that was why supporters often said that even when New Manchester United drew 0-0, the match rarely felt dull.
There was almost always something.
A sudden combination.
A clever run.
A moment of technique.
Something capable of pulling the crowd to its feet.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)