As the players raced towards the erupting away after the ball crept over the line and then proceeded to throw themselves into the heaving mass of waving arms, pumping fists and falling bodies, a picture began to take shape.
Manchester United's performance and result against Chelsea may not have been quite as galvanising as the destruction of Tottenham a few days earlier but the jubilant celebrations of the late equaliser showed a team that is growing closer together, building a rapport with supporters and heading in a positive direction. There wasn't even a sullen Cristiano Ronaldo there to ruin it.
Casemiro celebrated his fantastic header with the sort of emotion with which you belt out 'Angels' as a wedding reception comes to a close. Several players embraced the supporter who had gotten closer to the celebrations by standing over seat covers but he got closer than he probably expected when Lisandro Martinez came out of nowhere to wrap his arms around him. Antony nearly went full-on into the crowd and every player was together.
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It was an affecting scene. Though it may well just be happy people celebrating a happy thing, it felt like something more. A real coming-together moment, where fans and players truly fell for one another again. And it was United's summer signings that sparked such wild and joyous celebrations.
During the summer there was a growing concern over United's transfer targets, and they fact they appeared to be only going for players that Erik ten Hag was familiar with. He had either worked with them before at Ajax or had come up against them in the Netherlands. Of the five outfielders signed, four fit into the bracket with Casemiro the rule-proving exception and he wasn't the first choice.
Frenkie de Jong was a top target for the midfield position while the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Jurrien Timber and Cody Gakpo were all considered to varying degrees and all fit into the category. Having such a narrow parameter from which to sign players is obviously a risk and appeared to betray a club that had little-to-no competent scouting outside of the manager's own recommendations. Casemiro was hardly a hidden gem.
Yet what Ten Hag's knowledge of the players did provide, which may not have been considered by those outside the club at the time, is that he knew all of them as people as well as players. He was aware of their traits, attitudes and character, not just their quality, so knew he was signing people who would bring a positive attitude to the club.
You can be as good a player as you want, but if you have a stinking attitude what does it matter? It can just create a toxic environment that divides instead of unites. When Ronaldo refused to come on against Tottenham and then sulked his way down the tunnel it was a selfish act that threatened to not only ruin a great night but sow seeds of division within the squad and undermine the manager.
But those celebrations at Chelsea as well as the way the players supported the emotional Raphael Varane as he limped off the pitch and how everyone applauded the away fans shows that it didn't. Instead, the team has never been closer and it's doing a great job of rebuilding a tattered relationship with the fanbase.
As Ten Hag said after the game: “So you miss them but we had to do it [leave out Ronaldo] as club standards in the long term are more important. To set the right culture and the team process you need to control the standards and values.”
Ten Hag's deft and strong management of the Ronaldo situation has proven he has the conviction to improve the culture at the club, a building project he laid the foundation for with his summer signings. It was a worrying risk at the time but it is already paying off and he should now have the trust to keep doing things his way going forward.
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