As soon as moonlighting left-back Matheus Nunes aimlessly connected with the twinkling toes of Amad Diallo, the 196th Manchester derby flipped on its head.
Up stepped United captain Bruno Fernandes to stroke past Ederson and bring United level - deservedly so. It was the 88th minute and the Reds were good value for their point. Even against this pale imitation of a Manchester City side past the peak of their considerable powers, a draw at the Etihad should not be sniffed at.
Last May's FA Cup final win over the champions will never be forgotten, and nor should it. But considering where we are at this point in time, with our recent record at the Etihad and everything that's happened since that day, our 81st triumph over our nearest and dearest will live long in the memory.
The Diallo derby
Yet there was more to come. Lisandro Martinez - as good here as he was poor against Nottingham Forest - looked up and clipped the ball into the path of our jet-heeled Ivorian. Amad still had a lot to do, sandwiched as he was between the advancing keeper and two City players on the goal-line. Yet that did not matter for this generational talent, a man criminally ignored by the now departed Erik ten Hag.
Amad glided beyond Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, leaving them for dead to clip the ball over Ederson and roll into the net from the tightest of angles. How City failed to clear their lines with four players in close proximity I will never know but, as Clive Tyldesley once said: "With the greatest respect, who cares"
Yet again, Amad was the instigator of Manchester United's latest act of derring do. Twice now in 2024 he has struck last gasp, ice-cold winners against our two most hated rivals. Whatever else this lad goes on to achieve, he has already done enough to go down in the annals as a folk hero at Old Trafford. Our biggest task now might be keeping hold of him. To think Omari Forson was chosen ahead of him. Marcus Rashford's time at United may be nearing its end, but - in Amad - United have a player to run with the baton - a 22-year-old Ivorian in the form of his life with his stock soaring through the ceiling.
As he once again shot United to their rip roaring zenith, this was the undoubted nadir of Pep Guardiola's season. Surely even his entire managerial career. Watching his City side stumble and then fall down the cliff face into oblivion has been as baffling as it is enjoyable.
Ailing City out of time and steam
It says a lot that, even at 1-0 down with five minutes to go, I never feared for United. City's opener, a deflected mishit which fell kindly to Gvardiol, was fortuitous. A Phil Foden shot aside, they barely created anything. This a team which, much like United used to do, have had opponents beaten before a ball is even kicked. But here, City melted away like an ice cream in the desert and United needed no invitation to feast on their banquet of ineptitude.
Now this finest of footballing sides look cowed, vulnerable, terrified of their own shadow and a fading collection of ageing and battle weary superstars on their last legs. Guardiola's runaway, all-conquering juggernaut has officially run out of steam. The express train has hit the buffers. Everything has a 'best before' date. This is not simply down to the absence of the metronomic and irreplaceable Rodri. This is a side with tired minds and battered bodies that has been allowed to grow old together in Guardiola's relentless pursuit of perfection. The threat of unprecedented sanctions in the wake of their 115 charges hangs heavy over the Etihad and the nucleus of their side are all the wrong side of 30.
With one win in eleven games (eight of those are losses), this is worse than even the depths of our post-Ferguson days. It is not simply a blip, more a fully blown crisis. Any other manager would have been sacked by now. Not only that, but Guardiola looks lost and a man at odds himself in a position he's never been in before.
Ruthless Ruben takes tough stance
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For Ruben Amorim, United's dapper Portuguese gaffer, this was a superb early feather in his Old Trafford cap. In only the seventh game of his fledgling United tenure, he has gone where his predecessor did not. ten Hag's record away to City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal - indeed, even the likes of Villa, Newcastle and West Ham - was just one of the many reasons why he had to be moved on. Amorim has prevailed in his first crack at one of the big boys on his derby debut. He has beaten Guardiola twice in the space of a month. This time with a United team still finding our feet and restoring our confidence in these tentative early days of transition. For this manager and his side to go to the Etihad and win whilst still learning on the job is extraordinary.
He did so without Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho (article as per Sky Sports). Two of United's leading lights, two of this side's big names and two lads for whom omission from this game would have been unthinkable. Their absence sent out a clear message: no one is too big to be cast adrift. Finally it seems we have a manager not afraid to get tough and make difficult decisions if needed. No one can criticism him for it either. We won. It worked. No one is safe under Amorim and that's exactly how it should be.
In a parallel universe, Amorim could have been heading for the opposite dugout as Guardiola's successor in the summer, but United's decision to bring him in looks to have paid dividends. It's still early days, there's a long way to go and we've seen this film before, but the green shoots of recovery are beginning to sprout through the surface.
Ch-ch-ch-changes
This was a statement win of the highest order. United were far from perfect but we are improving. Much better both with the ball and without it. Braver, stronger, more organised. Patterns of play developing, a style forming. Results might have been up and down but at least now we can see a clear way of playing.
Harry Maguire was simply colossal in the middle of the back three, forcing Erling Haaland to the fringes. Mathijs de Ligt had his best game in the Red of United and Martinez was superb. In midfield, Manuel Ugarte shone like a diamond in a galaxy of stars. In the exalted company of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, Ugarte was the best player in the middle of the park. Hojlund got no service but linked play superbly and teed up Fernandes for the one on one he should have buried. Kobbie Mainoo was good off the bench and Noussair Mazraoui once again a shining light at right wing-back.
When Fernandes equalised, I knew we could win it. Back in the old days, even as recently as last season, if City did not batter their opposition, they saw games out. A shirt pull here, a tactical foul there, or summon their 60m reserve striker from the bench. But even this United side - a side that has endured our worst ever start to a Premier League season, had City rattled at the gentlest probing.
How often can you say you've gone to the Etihad and had as much of the ball as City? Not only that, but even had better chances than a Guardiola side? Amad was unlucky with a header, forcing a good save from Ederson. Fernandes should have scored having been put through by Hojlund and Mainoo fired wide.
What now for Amorim's United?
This brilliant win at the Etihad - even against a City team in this shape - cannot be merely a flash in the pan. We have to build on this now. United travel to a strange and unpredictable Spurs team in the cup on Thursday, then welcome high-flying Bournemouth to Old Trafford in the last game before Christmas. Too often, wins like this have come to nothing so we've got to kick on. Prior to the City game, we had our lowest ever points tally at this stage of a season in the Premier League era. But, for all our travails, we head into the penultimate weekend of the year only five points behind.
UTR!!
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