Rio Ferdinand believes Erik ten Hag has overseen a 'massive shift in mentality' at Manchester United following their 2-1 comeback win against Manchester City.
United turned around a thrilling Manchester derby at Old Trafford, with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford lifting them to within one point of their city rivals. Jack Grealish had originally given the away side the lead on the hour mark when he nodded home Kevin De Bruyne's cross.
But while United sides of previous years may have crumbled, Ten Hag's players managed to weather the storm before throwing two knockout punches of their own. Fernandes slotted home the equaliser in controversial circumstances, with Rashford initially flagged offside, before the Englishman poked home the winner four minutes later.
Also read: United vs City - as it happened
Asked whether the result puts his former side in the title race, Ferdinand resisted the temptation to get carried away but stressed the shift in attitude under Ten Hag.
"I’m not going to get carried away, I’m just going to remain calm," Ferdinand told BT Sport after the final whistle. "I’ve had my little moment of excitement in the studio. You’ve got to take these moments. Casemiro, that man there, Marcus Rashford another one - two huge components in everything that’s good about Manchester United at the moment, and the spirit showed today.
"I spoke about being fragile in recent years, this Man United team. Going 1-0 down against a team like Manchester City in the past, they would have absolutely folded. Today they gathered their concentration, remained calm, came back into the game, and they’ve come out of it with three points. That’s a massive, massive shift in mentality in this squad now and it only bodes well for the future."
Ten Hag has refused to get dragged into title talk of late, despite his side's run of four wins in a row and one defeat in 10, and Paul Scholes echoed the Dutchman's thoughts that any momentum will need to carry much further into the year.
Scholes added: "It’s a big win. It’s a little bit early to say they’re in a title race and as the manager said before the game you’re looking at March, April, and if they’re still in that position then great. I still question whether Man United have the squad to really compete at the league title level, but it’s progress."
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