Paul Scholes's header in the dying seconds at a sun-drenched Eastlands on Saturday earned United a 1-0 win over Manchester City and revived the Premier League champions' hopes of a record 19th championship and a record fourth in a row.
The significance of Paul Scholes's last-gasp winner in the Manchester derby on Saturday sparked wild celebrations among his team mates and sent United manager Alex Ferguson dancing along the touchline.
The diminutive midfielder's header in the dying seconds at a sun-drenched Eastlands on Saturday earned United a 1-0 win over Manchester City and revived the Premier League champions' hopes of a record 19th championship and a record fourth in a row.
"We weren't getting carried away at the end, if you win a derby in that manner, four games from the end of the season, to give yourself a hope of still winning the title, then obviously you're going to be excited," said United captain Gary Neville.
"Obviously, there are always question marks at this club when you lose matches. Today we're delighted we've won that game in such a manner," he told MUTV after backroom staff and substitutes raced on to the pitch to join in the celebrations.
"The celebration was about coming out of a difficult two or three weeks. And winning the derby means everything -- to us, to the players, the fans. It's something that we needed. We definitely needed that as a club."
Ferguson's side have endured a difficult few weeks. First, Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich and then a crucial league defeat on home turf by Chelsea.
A dull 0-0 draw at Blackburn Rovers followed and with it came a swarm of newspaper back pages proclaiming the title was heading to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge.
With three games remaining, Scholes's strike put second-placed United just one point behind Chelsea, who play at Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday's late match (1630 GMT).
"I think he (Scholes) was the man of the match. To my mind he was absolutely fantastic. He is such a skilful player. He was wonderful today," Ferguson told Sky Sports.
Neville added: "We have not had a great two weeks but today in the last minute Scholesy, who has passed them to death all day, has popped up in the box and scored and given us a little bit of life. We now just have to hope someone does us a favour."
"We just have to go home and hope Tottenham do something for us."
Ferguson, who was without injured central defender Rio Ferdinand but did include fit-again striker Wayne Rooney after an ankle knock, selected the tried-and-tested old guard of Neville, Ryan Giggs and Scholes for the City match.
"The experience in these games is definitely important," said the United manager. "They have been in so many of these derby games over the years that they are vital now. It helps other players apart from their own contribution."
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