Bruno Fernandes claims Manchester United turned a corner under Erik ten Hag last August after their crushing defeats by Brighton and Brentford.
The Red Devils lost their first two Premier League games of the season by a combined scoreline of 6-1, falling to a 2-1 home defeat by the Seagulls and a 4-0 drubbing in west London. Ten Hag had only started working with his players a matter of weeks earlier, having arrived from Ajax, but the two results raised questions of whether he was up to the job at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman responded in remarkable fashion, cancelling the squad's day off and joining players in a gruelling run in the summer heat. This punishment was the catalyst for United to pick up their first win under Ten Hag as they beat arch-rivals Liverpool 2-1.
Fernandes has no doubt the victory over the Reds was the turning point of United's season, as they have lost just three of their next 21 league games and have catapulted themselves into the title race. Ten Hag's side also remain on the hunt in three-cup competitions as they bid to end their six-year trophy drought.
"For me, the key moment of this season is the Liverpool game," Fernandes told United legend Rio Ferdinand in an interview for BT Sport. "I think that is the main moment for us because we come from two really bad results and then we got that win. The stadium was once again on fire; it was an unbelievable atmosphere that the fans created for us."
Having beaten one of their most bitter rivals at home, United's other foe came calling as Manchester City rolled up to Old Trafford in mid-January. The defending champions put an end to the Red Devils' four-game winning run in early October by inflicting a 6-3 defeat, so Fernandes and Co. were hungry for revenge.
Jack Grealish opened the scoring for the visitors but Fernandes scored a 78th-minute equaliser and Marcus Rashford came up trumps with a winner to send the Theatre of Dreams into a frenzy. Fernandes added: "Obviously, this game was that [next] step. Everyone thought: 'Now it's City. Now it's the team that plays the best football in the last five or six years in England. Let's see if they can deal with that.'
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"And we did. We did really well. We won that game and I think we showed a lot of passion and a lot of character and a lot of quality too, knowing how to defend against a team that plays really good football."
Fernandes declared it felt like Old Trafford "was on fire " during the fixture against City. The Portuguese playmaker hopes for a similar atmosphere in Thursday night's Europa League play-off second leg against Barcelona.
