The reason behind Manchester United’s performance against rivals City yesterday was a rousing speech given by their captain Wayne Rooney has been out of action for quite some time now but he spoke to his teammates in the dressing room before the game.
The striker sparked rumours that he might have a part to play when he was spotted in Eastlands but it looks like his talk was enough to have an effect on the players. Louis Van Gaal usually does not allow players not included in the matchday squad in the dressing room before a game but he made an exception this time.
According to M.E.N. Sport the captain spoke to his players before the game and it worked wonders as United won the game just 10 days after their loss against Liverpool. It’s not the first time the England forward has given his players a motivational speech.
Rooney gave a similar speech last year
Last year United found themselves in a tough position and Rooney once again had a talk with his comrades which helped in turning their season around. Speaking to Gary Neville in an interview last year Rooney summarised what he had said in his speech.
"Our main aim was to finish as high up in the table and then we had Liverpool coming up, Man City coming up, so I knew we had some tough games and as a reminder to the players [I told them] the football club we're playing at, the standards you need to set at this club and what we have to do to reach our goal from then until the end of the season
“I asked the players if anybody wanted to speak up, if they had anything to say, so it was along those lines. We played well and won, so that got a bit of coverage.I think I just felt as, being captain, it was my job everyone knew what we were focusing on from then until the end of the season and we've got a good dressing room.”
"You knew what it was like, if you stood up there with everyone, it's a bit of banter but when I was speaking the lads were fully focused and listened and we went on a good run from there.”
United back in the top four race
With that win over Manchester City, United have closed the gap on their rivals to a single point. The win puts them firmly back in the race for a Champions League spot. Having been beaten by Liverpool in the Europa League last week United bounced back impressively against their neighbours.
City will now be looking nervously over their shoulders and have also lost ground on those above them. They are now 4 points behind third-placed Arsenal and 14 behind leaders Leicester.
