Messi's introduction changed everything.
New Manchester United immediately returned to their familiar 4-2-3-1.
De Rossi and Essien formed the double pivot. Kaká moved back into his usual role behind the striker. Ronaldo started from the left, Messi from the right, and Drogba remained alone up front.
Van Gaal watched the adjustment from the opposite technical area and frowned.
The change made sense in terms of personnel.
What puzzled him was the midfield.
Neither De Rossi nor Essien was a natural playmaker. They could protect the defence, press aggressively and carry possession forward, but neither offered the kind of control Beckham normally provided.
If New Manchester United were no longer asking Fàbregas to dictate possession, then who was supposed to organise the attacks?
Was Mourinho actually giving up control of midfield?
Van Gaal trusted his own structure.
One of the things outsiders had initially misunderstood about Yaya Touré was the range of his game. He was not merely a holding midfielder who won the ball and protected the defence.
He could carry possession through pressure.
He could pass.
He could arrive around the penalty area.
He could drop alongside the defenders and help build from deep.
That was precisely why Van Gaal had continued to rely heavily on him even after signing Vieira and Van Bommel.
Yaya was the box-to-box link.
Sneijder operated slightly ahead of him.
Van der Vaart drifted behind Ibrahimović.
Vieira and Van Bommel supplied the defensive security.
On paper, it gave Manchester City tremendous control through the centre.
Van Gaal was confident in it.
Which made Mourinho's decision even stranger.
Everyone who understood Mourinho's football knew how highly he valued control.
Control of space.
Control of tempo.
Control of where the opposition were allowed to play.
Yet now he appeared willing to let Manchester City have more of the ball.
Van Gaal glanced towards the New Manchester United bench.
Mourinho happened to be looking straight back at him.
The Portuguese manager smiled.
Not broadly.
Just enough to make Van Gaal suspicious.
Mourinho turned towards Cassell.
"He's trying to work out what I'm doing."
Cassell gave him a doubtful look.
"I'm trying to work it out too."
Mourinho laughed.
Cassell continued.
"It is risky. If we give up midfield possession, we're abandoning one of our biggest strengths."
"Are we?"
Mourinho folded his arms.
"Possession is useful only if it takes you somewhere."
"If they want to pass the ball around in front of us, let them."
"We don't need seventy per cent of the ball."
"We need the dangerous thirty."
Cassell knew better than to turn the conversation into a philosophical argument.
Mourinho could defend a tactical decision for hours.
Even after a defeat, he could usually produce an entire lecture explaining why the idea itself had been correct.
Still, one question remained.
"You really trust Didier to make this work?"
Mourinho looked towards the pitch.
"Completely."
New Manchester United's attacking plan was becoming obvious.
They were no longer trying to progress patiently through central midfield.
The first option was the flanks.
The second was a direct pass from defence.
Either way, the objective was the same.
Find Drogba.
Then attack the second ball.
"Didier can occupy an entire back line by himself," Mourinho said. "If they want to deal with him one against one, that's their problem."
Less than a minute later, the theory became reality.
Sneijder received possession in midfield and tried to turn.
De Rossi stepped in.
The Dutchman went down.
The referee waved play on.
De Rossi looked up and immediately sent a long pass towards Drogba.
The striker had already moved.
Instead of remaining on the shoulder of the centre-backs, he dropped several yards and positioned himself underneath the descending ball.
Van Gaal had deliberately assigned Distin to deal with him in the air.
Kolo Touré was athletic and aggressive, but he did not have the height to compete consistently with Drogba.
Distin did.
At least in theory.
The French defender followed Drogba out of the defensive line and pressed tightly against his back.
Drogba still won the duel.
He met the ball with his forehead and redirected it towards the left.
Ronaldo controlled on his chest.
Danny Mills moved across.
Ronaldo shifted the ball beyond him and accelerated inside.
Kolo Touré stepped out.
He knew Ronaldo well.
That knowledge did not make the winger easier to defend.
Ronaldo changed direction too quickly.
His stride was explosive.
And once he reached full speed with the ball under control, committing too early was dangerous.
Kolo hesitated for half a second.
Ronaldo passed.
Kaká had arrived through the centre at full speed.
Van Bommel tried to follow him but could not match the acceleration.
Kaká entered the penalty area.
Bridge moved across from the left.
The Brazilian shaped as though he were going outside.
Bridge committed.
Kaká shifted the ball onto his right foot and drove a low shot towards the near corner.
Given reacted.
Too late.
The ball was already inside the post.
Goal.
New Manchester United led 1-0.
"Magnificent from Kaká!"
Martin Tyler's voice rose above the noise from the away section.
"Forty-eight minutes played, and New Manchester United have broken through almost immediately after the interval!"
Andy Gray watched the replay.
"Look at the whole move."
"Drogba wins the first ball, Ronaldo attacks the space, and Kaká comes through the middle like a train."
"Bridge has no idea which way he's going."
"One feint, one touch, finish."
"That's elite attacking play."
Kaká turned away in celebration.
Ronaldo reached him first.
Drogba followed.
Messi came running from the other side.
Within seconds, most of the attacking unit had surrounded him.
Kaká raised one finger towards the sky, his familiar celebration.
Then he looked towards the directors' section.
He smiled.
And held up two fingers.
The gesture immediately caused confusion among the commentators.
"Two?" Gray said. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The television cameras searched the stand.
They eventually found Caroline sitting near Ethan.
She was smiling through tears.
Tyler understood.
"There may be a story behind that."
There was.
Before the season began, Kaká had made a light-hearted wager with Ethan.
If he managed three hat-tricks during the campaign, Ethan would personally organise his wedding celebrations with Caroline.
The story had already appeared through the club's online channels.
Kaká's gesture was not saying that he had two hat-tricks remaining.
It was much simpler.
He had scored once.
He wanted two more today.
Gray laughed when the explanation reached the commentary booth.
"So that's what this is about."
"He's trying to get married."
The away section responded immediately.
Kaká's song rolled around Gigg Lane.
Supporters began shouting for two more.
Caroline covered her face again, embarrassed and delighted in equal measure.
Manchester City restarted with urgency.
Van Gaal had no intention of accepting defeat at home, particularly against Mourinho.
City pushed forward.
New Manchester United did not change their approach.
De Rossi and Essien stayed disciplined.
Neither made unnecessary runs beyond the ball.
The majority of the attacking responsibility belonged to the four players ahead of them, with Maicon and Evra supporting selectively from full-back.
City had possession.
New Manchester United had space.
Three minutes after the opening goal, Mourinho's side struck again.
Maicon intercepted on the right and immediately surged forward.
Van Bommel moved across to block him.
Maicon did not try to dribble past.
He lifted a diagonal pass towards Drogba.
Again, Drogba won the first contact.
This time he nodded the ball down into Kaká's path.
The Brazilian carried it forward.
Manchester City's midfield retreated.
Kaká released Messi on the right.
The Argentine controlled almost without breaking stride.
Bridge closed him down.
Messi nudged the ball beyond the defender and exploded after it.
Bridge turned and chased.
He could not get close.
Messi reached the edge of the penalty area with Distin moving across to confront him.
He continued towards the byline.
Distin expected the cross.
Messi stopped suddenly.
The defender's momentum carried him half a step too far.
Messi pulled the ball back inside.
Kaká was arriving again.
Kolo Touré saw the danger and slid across.
Too late.
Kaká took the pass in stride, moved beyond the challenge and found himself facing Given.
He opened his body.
Side-footed the ball towards the far corner.
2-0.
Gigg Lane erupted.
"Kaká again!"
Tyler could barely make himself heard.
"Two goals in three minutes!"
"New Manchester United have torn Manchester City apart since half-time!"
Gray watched another replay.
"The important thing is that this isn't random."
"Look at Drogba."
"Again he wins the first ball."
"Again Kaká receives underneath him."
"Then Messi attacks Bridge, and suddenly City's entire defensive line is retreating."
"That is exactly what Mourinho has changed."
New Manchester United had stopped competing for possession on Manchester City's terms.
They had made possession almost irrelevant.
City could circulate the ball through Vieira, Van Bommel and Yaya Touré.
Mourinho's side were prepared to let them.
The moment possession changed hands, the attack became direct.
Drogba was the reference point.
Ronaldo, Messi and Kaká attacked around him.
One long pass could remove half of City's midfield from the game.
Drogba's ability to win and secure those balls made the system possible.
Kolo Touré could not dominate him in the air.
Distin could not overpower him physically.
If either centre-back followed Drogba away from the defensive line, space appeared behind.
If they stayed deep, Drogba could receive freely.
It was a miserable choice.
Tyler pointed out another detail.
"Watch Kaká's starting position when New Manchester United defend."
"He's not staying high beside Drogba."
"He drops towards the midfield."
"That gives City the impression that everything is compact."
"But the moment Drogba wins the first contact, Kaká is already moving."
"And one of the two wide players is always stretching the pitch."
Gray nodded.
"That's the danger."
"Ronaldo, Kaká and Messi all have the pace to attack a defence before it resets."
"You don't need fifteen passes when three will do."
Manchester City tried to respond.
The problem nearly became worse.
Another direct ball was sent towards Drogba.
This time Distin read it early and managed to head clear.
Essien collected the second ball.
He played sideways to De Rossi.
De Rossi returned it.
Essien then carried possession forward himself.
He did not sprint.
He simply protected the ball, forcing City's midfield to retreat.
Maicon moved beyond him on the right.
Essien passed.
Then immediately dropped into Maicon's position to protect against a turnover.
Maicon advanced and found Messi.
Bridge pressed tight.
Messi used his body to shield the ball near the touchline.
He allowed it to run almost out of play, slipped around Bridge and collected it again on the other side.
The crowd reacted to the skill.
This time Messi drove all the way to the byline.
He crossed towards Drogba.
The striker pinned Distin beneath the flight of the ball and headed across goal.
Ronaldo attacked the far post ahead of Kolo Touré.
He stretched and redirected the ball goalwards.
Given threw himself across and pushed it wide.
Corner.
No goal.
But the warning could hardly have been clearer.
Van Gaal reacted.
Vieira, Van Bommel and Yaya Touré were ordered to sit deeper.
The midfield stopped advancing as aggressively.
Their priority became controlling the second ball whenever Drogba challenged for possession.
It worked.
The spaces around the striker became smaller.
Kaká found it harder to receive cleanly.
Ronaldo and Messi no longer had so much open grass to attack.
City's defensive structure improved almost immediately.
Van Gaal made another change.
Bridge came off.
Sun Jihai replaced him.
The decision was understandable.
Bridge had endured a miserable opening to the second half.
Messi had beaten him repeatedly.
Sun arrived fresh, concentrated almost entirely on his defensive responsibilities and dealt with the Argentine much more effectively.
Manchester City steadied.
The price was obvious.
Their own attack lost momentum.
Vieira and Van Bommel were now positioned too deep to support sustained pressure.
Yaya had less freedom to drive forward.
Sneijder and Van der Vaart received the ball with fewer options around them.
Ibrahimović became increasingly isolated.
City had solved one problem by creating another.
Gradually, the match moved back towards equilibrium.
New Manchester United no longer looked as dangerous as they had during those devastating opening minutes.
Manchester City no longer looked capable of overwhelming them either.
Possession became more balanced.
The tempo settled.
The frantic exchanges slowed.
It was like a surface of water returning to stillness after being disturbed.
For a few minutes, everything looked stable again.
Then one small incident changed the shape of the match once more.
(To be continued.)