Former Manchester United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen has provided insight into the dressing room after the notorious 6-1 derby defeat in 2011.
The Dutchman spent seven years alongside Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout and on the training pitch, witnessing 20 Manchester derbies in that time.
Nobody could’ve seen this particular one coming, though, with the Reds unfortunately humiliated on their home turf. Mario Balotelli opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and added a second after the interval, before Sergio Aguero got in on the action with a 69th-minute goal.
Darren Fletcher pulled one back in the 81st minute but the contribution was ultimately rendered in vain as City went on to score three goals in stoppage time; a brace from Edin Dzeko and one from David Silva.
It marked United’s worst defeat at Old Trafford since 1955 and the dismal day still hangs over the heads of Reds when taking on the now-state-owned outfit each term.
Speaking exclusively to Manchester Evening News, Meulensteen explained: “Everyone was very disappointed, but the manager was furious, not necessarily because we lost, but the fact we lost the game so heavily.
“He tore into the players and said ‘I understand running into a game like that and sometimes everything falls away, but we were losing 3-1, we got a man sent off. I still thought, and you lot thought, we could win the game, but we flooded people forward and got hit.
“He said ‘How often do I have to say a goal difference might play a massive part in winning or not winning the league’ – and he was right in the end. That was the biggest message after that game.”
