As Pep Guardiola gave a calm assessment of Manchester City's Premier League defeat at Brentford, Erik ten Hag was taking the microphone at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag told the Manchester United fans that his side 'have a really good chance' to win the FA Cup final against City next season, prompting defiant chants from the stands. Over in West London, Guardiola was philosophical over the performance of his second-string City side, and ordered his players to take two days off and think about anything but United.
The FA have already engraved the word 'Manchester' on the FA Cup, given the certainty that one of United or City will win the FA Cup this week. Ten Hag will hope his good first season will end in two cups and a top-three finish - Guardiola knows there will still be a bigger prize at stake and hopes a third trophy will have 'Manchester' engraved on it come June 10.
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"There's still one game to go and I'm sure these players will give everything to beat Manchester City next week," Ten Hag said into the microphone on the Old Trafford pitch. "I'm sure we have a really good chance to take the cup back to Old Trafford."
In contrast, Guardiola said: "Enjoy two days with your families. Don’t see each other. Wednesday we prepare the first final."
Guardiola has been keen to ease the burden on his players since the Premier League title was sealed last weekend. He said a number of his players are 'mentally exhausted', prompting four key men to be left in Manchester as the second string lost at Brentford. For the second time in a week, the City bench would probably have beaten the starters if they were put in a head-to-head game.
So Guardiola's response is to give his players, staff and support staff two days off to completely disengage. Guardiola said he would go and spend time with his family, and encourage everyone else to do the same. After that, he will see who is available when everyone reconvenes on Wednesday, pick the strongest side from those players, and go to Wembley to try and beat United.
One point from Brighton and Brentford was not ideal, but more reflected the changes to the side and the exhaustion in the ranks.
The manager said: "It has not been easy but we made two incredible games - the results were not ideal but I'm pretty sure we would have been a little bit different than if we needed the points to be champions. The players need rest and to recharge their batteries for the last two finals."
Guardiola never speaks of thinking more than one game ahead, and neither do his players. It was the mentality that won the Premier League with that 11-game winning run, and put them within touching distance of the treble with 25 games unbeaten. He admits over the last week, though, that the priority has been on United and then Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Over at United, once top four was secured, their approach seems to be to arrive at Wembley riled up and fully motivated. It's far from a bad approach to go into a derby, and there is plenty at stake for them. A domestic cup double will make a good debut year for Ten Hag a very good one, and they would stop City from emulating their 1999 treble.
Guardiola would love nothing more than equalling that achievement and finally lifting the Champions League - something he finally admits will define his City legacy from onlookers. In order to do that, though, he knows that taking the pressure off is the best way to go into the next two huge finals.
It's a huge week on both sides of Manchester, with the same trophy in the eyes of both squads. The approaches couldn't be more different, though.
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