The second half began, and Ferguson had clearly instructed his players at half-time to strengthen their control of midfield.
Solskjær, Giggs, and Scholes all dropped deeper to help defensively, maintaining compact distances from Keane and Butt as Manchester United tried to increase the pressure in central areas.
On paper, a midfield pairing of Beckham and Essien could not match Butt and Keane for pure defensive strength.
New Manchester United's real defensive advantage, however, came from the way they counter-pressed immediately after losing possession, particularly high up the pitch.
The approach resembled the aggressive pressing systems that would later become common among Europe's strongest possession-based teams.
In theory, it contained elements of Total Football, though in practice Mourinho's interpretation was very different from the traditional Dutch model.
Ethan was not a professional coach and could not explain every tactical distinction in technical terms.
What he could see was that New Manchester United's approach was extremely aggressive.
The players might not possess the same level of technical refinement as some of Europe's great possession sides, but they compensated with constant movement, short passing combinations, and relentless support around the ball.
Even when New Manchester United were still playing in the First Division, several analysts had already identified the key problem opponents faced when trying to stop them.
The only realistic solution was to control space and disrupt the passing connections created by their movement.
Most supporting runs were only ten to fifteen metres.
Some were even shorter.
That meant the distance between one passing option and the next was usually small, reducing the risk of mistakes.
Simply waiting for New Manchester United to misplace a pass was rarely enough.
Yet so far, no opponent had found a reliable way to completely break those connections.
The reason was simple.
Their players ran too much.
The first-half statistics made that obvious.
Beckham had covered the greatest distance of anyone on the pitch, an astonishing 8.3 kilometres in forty-five minutes.
It was remarkable, but it also revealed something the coaching staff would need to improve.
Not all of that movement had been useful.
The next stage of Beckham's development in the role would involve making more of his runs productive, cutting down unnecessary movement, and managing his energy more efficiently.
Essien had covered close to seven kilometres himself, contributing heavily in both directions.
Even Čech, who naturally covered the least ground as the goalkeeper, had still moved 4.1 kilometres during the first half.
That gave some indication of how much ground everyone else had covered.
Running was one of the defining characteristics of Mourinho's team.
But it was not mindless running.
The movement had structure.
Players constantly moved into passing lanes, created angles, supported possession, and carried attacks forward.
Without the ball, those same movements closed passing lanes and disconnected opponents from one another.
To stop New Manchester United's movement, an opponent had to cover even more ground.
Worse still, much of that extra running would be reactive rather than productive, chasing players and closing spaces that were immediately being reopened elsewhere.
In practical terms, trying to match them purely through running risked turning a football match into an endurance contest.
That did not make New Manchester United unbeatable.
No tactical system was.
Eventually, someone would find a way to beat them.
But Ethan did not believe this Manchester United side would be the one to do it today.
...
Manchester United had long been known for intelligent movement without the ball.
Yet against New Manchester United, even they were being outrun and outmanoeuvred.
Combined with the Red Rebels' quick passing, that left Ferguson's side chasing possession for long stretches.
Several times, Manchester United managed to win the ball through sheer determination.
But once they did, they often discovered that the obvious passing lanes had already been closed.
The next pass was either intercepted or forced into an error.
The problem became even more severe when Manchester United tried to play into New Manchester United's half.
At the other end, the Magic Four were becoming increasingly dangerous.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the left and Palacio on the right repeatedly attacked Manchester United's full-backs.
Both flanks were under enormous pressure.
United, however, remained difficult to break down.
Their defending was determined, and Tim Howard was producing an excellent performance on his competitive debut, making several saves from chances that looked certain to result in goals.
But whenever Drogba occupied Ferdinand, Silvestre found himself exposed.
And in the 67th minute, that finally cost Manchester United.
Kaká drove aggressively through the centre before releasing Palacio on the right.
Palacio attacked Fortune, beat him cleanly, and carried the ball into the penalty area.
Howard came out to narrow the angle.
Instead of shooting, Palacio cut the ball back towards Kaká.
Kaká arrived to meet it.
Silvestre came charging across and collided heavily with him, sending both Kaká and the ball away.
The referee had an excellent view.
His whistle sounded immediately.
Penalty.
He then showed Silvestre a yellow card.
Ferdinand reacted furiously.
He chased after the referee, insisting Silvestre's challenge had been fair.
The referee ignored the protest at first, then warned Ferdinand that if he continued, he risked being booked for dissent.
Watching from the touchline, Ferguson sighed.
The warning signs were obvious.
Ferdinand was becoming increasingly emotional.
Ferguson glanced towards the bench.
"John, warm up."
O'Shea immediately stood.
Ferdinand was arguably the most naturally gifted English centre-back of his generation.
But his temperament and occasional lapses in concentration could still create problems.
By comparison, Terry and Curtis possessed qualities Ferguson greatly admired.
Terry was composed.
Under Mourinho's coaching, he had become increasingly reliable as the deeper, more positionally disciplined centre-back.
Curtis was different.
He played with aggression and emotion.
He still made occasional mistakes, but he was young, physically outstanding, and increasingly assured when paired with reliable teammates.
If Ferdinand did not improve those weaknesses, Ferguson suspected Terry and Curtis could eventually overtake him in the England hierarchy.
...
Kaká was New Manchester United's first-choice penalty taker.
He had won the penalty himself, so naturally he began walking towards the spot.
Before he could get there, Beckham stopped him.
"Let me take it."
Kaká looked surprised.
He saw the determination in Beckham's expression.
After a brief hesitation, he nodded.
One by one, Beckham's teammates embraced him or patted him on the shoulder.
Even Čech came forward from his goal to offer encouragement before jogging back into position.
Then Beckham stood alone over the ball.
Howard waited on his line.
There was little meaningful penalty data available on the American goalkeeper, certainly nothing New Manchester United could rely on.
Howard crouched slightly, eyes fixed on Beckham.
The Millennium Stadium fell almost completely silent.
Every supporter seemed to be watching the same man.
The television camera closed in on Beckham's face.
His expression was calm.
Focused.
Run-up.
Strike.
Goal.
For Beckham, the moment seemed to last forever.
Howard guessed the wrong way.
Beckham calmly rolled the ball into the opposite corner.
2-0.
Howard remained on the turf and struck the grass in frustration.
Neither goal had really been his fault.
That hardly made him feel any better.
This was his first competitive appearance for Manchester United in England, and his team had already conceded twice.
Judging by the flow of the match, there was still a danger of more.
Beckham dropped to his knees beside the penalty spot.
Tears appeared almost immediately.
Then, noticing the television camera trained on him, he covered his face and lowered his head towards the grass.
His teammates rushed over and surrounded him.
A short distance away, Keane and several other Manchester United players stood silently watching.
They understood exactly what the moment meant.
That penalty felt like Beckham's final goodbye to Manchester United.
There was no going back now.
Keane looked around at the players beside him.
Without Beckham, Giggs was finding little room to attack.
Scholes could not make his usual forward runs.
Van Nistelrooy was isolated inside the penalty area.
Manchester United simply could not move the ball into dangerous areas often enough.
They had run out of solutions.
In the past, when United faced a compact defence that refused to open up, Beckham's switches of play and long passing had often found another route.
Combined with Van Nistelrooy's movement in the penalty area, it had become one of Manchester United's most reliable ways of breaking stubborn opponents.
One accurate pass could change the entire shape of an attack.
One cross could turn a dead spell into a goal.
It could relieve pressure and give the rest of the team room to breathe.
Solskjær could not provide the same thing.
He was an excellent forward.
But he was not Beckham.
If Manchester United could not progress the ball into dangerous areas, Van Nistelrooy became isolated.
Scholes could not influence the final third.
Giggs could not attack defenders at pace.
And no matter how fiercely Keane competed in midfield, one man could not solve the problems of an entire team.
Keane glanced towards the dugout.
Ferguson sat there with a dark expression.
For the first time, Keane could not help thinking that the manager might have misjudged this one.
Selling Beckham was one thing.
The greater problem was how the entire situation had unfolded.
United had lost one of their most important players under difficult circumstances.
Then Ronaldinho chose Barcelona.
Hleb never came to Old Trafford either.
The right side of Manchester United's attack had been left without a proper replacement.
Their excellent preseason form had hidden some of those problems.
Now, against an opponent capable of exposing them, the weaknesses were much harder to ignore.
Mourinho had called Manchester United paper tigers before the match.
At that moment, the description did not seem quite so outrageous.
...
O'Shea replaced Ferdinand.
The new central defensive partnership of O'Shea and Silvestre looked no more convincing, but Ferguson had clearly decided that leaving Ferdinand on the pitch carried too much risk.
Ten minutes later, Ferguson made further changes.
Djemba-Djemba replaced the ineffective Butt.
Fortune came off for Diego Forlán as Manchester United tried to become more attacking.
Forlán would eventually establish himself as one of Europe's most dangerous strikers, but his time in England had yet to take off.
The qualities that would later make him so effective were still difficult to see consistently in the Premier League.
Ferguson partnered him with Van Nistelrooy in attack, hoping the additional forward would change the match.
It made little difference.
New Manchester United remained in control.
Beckham continued to organise the game and created several more promising attacks.
The Red Rebels simply failed to add another goal.
When the referee finally blew for full-time, the Millennium Stadium erupted.
2-0.
New Manchester United had beaten Manchester United.
Even some supporters in the Manchester United sections rose to applaud.
Whatever they thought about the rivalry, the Red Rebels had produced an excellent performance and deserved the victory.
In his post-match analysis, Andy Gray argued that the scoreline did not fully reflect New Manchester United's superiority.
"If they'd been more clinical, this could have been much heavier than 2-0," he said. "They created enough chances to really punish Manchester United."
Gray also identified Manchester United's biggest problem.
"Since Beckham's departure, the balance of their midfield has changed. Today they simply couldn't find enough ways to move the ball into the penalty area."
"And if the midfield can't supply Van Nistelrooy, even a striker of his quality becomes isolated. You can have one of the best finishers in Europe, but he can't score from chances that never arrive."
When the discussion turned to New Manchester United, Gray was equally impressed.
"This team still has room to improve."
"Beckham is the obvious example. We saw a very different version of him today, but he's clearly still learning the position and still developing an understanding with the players around him."
Then Gray smiled.
"And they keep telling us the objective this season is survival."
"If that's genuinely the target, then the Premier League must be terrifyingly strong, because a team capable of playing like this should surely be thinking about more than avoiding relegation."
"Champions League qualification, perhaps."
"Maybe even a title challenge if everything goes perfectly."
He laughed.
"Come on, José. Where's that ambition we heard so much about when you first arrived in England?"
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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