After conceding twice in quick succession, Manchester City became increasingly desperate to find a way back into the match.
Once the game settled again, Van Gaal made his next gamble.
Sneijder came off.
Robbie Fowler entered.
City shifted into a 4-4-2, with Fowler joining Ibrahimović up front.
The intention was obvious.
Van Gaal wanted two strikers occupying New Manchester United's centre-backs, forcing Terry and Curtis into more direct defensive work while giving Van der Vaart greater freedom to arrive from midfield.
Mourinho had no interest in protecting a 2-0 lead.
From the technical area, he continued urging his players forward.
He did not merely want three points.
He wanted a convincing victory.
The previous season's draw had irritated him for months, partly because Van Gaal had read his intentions so well. Mourinho wanted this match to end with no ambiguity at all.
Manchester City's players responded with aggression.
They were at home.
They were two goals behind.
And many of them had something personal to prove.
Vieira had more than most.
His record against New Manchester United was poor.
During his final seasons with Arsenal, Mourinho's side had repeatedly frustrated him, and several of those defeats had been painful.
Now he was Manchester City's captain.
The surroundings were different.
The teammates were different.
The ambition was different.
Vieira wanted the result to be different too.
Yaya Touré and Kolo Touré had their own motivation.
Both were playing against their former club.
Neither wanted to leave the pitch having been comprehensively beaten by the side they had left behind.
Manchester City were not simply a collection of expensive signings.
The players had reputations.
Pride.
Careers to protect.
They wanted to demonstrate that the money spent on them had produced something real.
That urgency drove City forward.
It also made them increasingly reckless.
De Rossi and Essien were magnificent in front of New Manchester United's defence.
Whenever Van der Vaart tried to receive between the lines, one of them closed him.
When Ibrahimović dropped deeper, the other covered the space behind.
Fowler found almost no room.
Yaya Touré's forward runs were tracked.
City attacked repeatedly without creating enough.
Frustration grew.
Vieira felt it most strongly.
His tackles became harder.
His challenges arrived earlier.
Eventually, one mistimed lunge earned him a yellow card.
Mourinho noticed immediately.
A booked Vieira was still dangerous.
A frustrated Vieira on a booking was an opportunity.
New Manchester United continued drawing fouls, slowing possession and attacking whenever City overcommitted.
Neither side managed to score.
The match settled into another tense spell.
Then, in the eighty-second minute, everything changed.
Manchester City launched another attack.
New Manchester United cleared powerfully from inside the penalty area.
The ball flew towards the technical area and crossed the touchline.
City wanted to restart immediately.
Their players were already pushing forward.
Vieira sprinted towards the ball.
It rolled almost directly to Mourinho.
The Portuguese manager trapped it with his right foot, flicked it up once and caught it.
For a moment, the gesture looked almost playful.
Then he saw Vieira approaching.
New Manchester United's defensive shape was still reorganising.
Mourinho did not hand the ball to City's captain.
Instead, he tossed it several yards away towards Danny Mills, who was also moving across to take the throw.
Vieira stopped.
His temper went instantly.
He shoved Mourinho hard in the chest.
Mourinho went backwards and hit the ground.
The reaction was immediate.
Evra had seen everything from only a few yards away.
He charged towards Vieira.
Several other New Manchester United players followed.
Manchester City's players rushed in just as quickly.
For a few seconds, it looked as though the opening weekend was about to produce a full-scale confrontation.
Curtis and Terry reacted first.
Both moved between the groups.
Curtis pushed teammates back.
Terry repeatedly shouted for everyone to calm down.
"Mourinho's fine!"
"Back away!"
"Let the referee deal with it!"
That prevented the situation from escalating.
The referee arrived and separated the remaining players.
He called Vieira and Curtis over.
Vieira had already begun to realise what he had done.
The referee's expression made the outcome obvious.
"I don't care whether you were provoked," he told Vieira. "You cannot put your hands on the opposition manager."
He pointed towards his notebook.
"It will be in my report."
Then came the card.
Yellow.
Vieira had already been booked.
The referee immediately produced the red.
Manchester City were down to ten men.
Vieira tore the captain's armband from his sleeve and threw it towards Van Bommel.
He walked towards the tunnel muttering furiously.
The home crowd booed Mourinho instead.
They had seen the delay.
They had seen him go down.
To them, the entire sequence looked theatrical.
Mourinho could not have cared less.
He got back to his feet and dusted himself off.
When several players came across to check on him, he waved them away.
"I'm fine."
Then he smiled.
"Listen to them."
The boos became louder.
"Good."
He pointed towards the stands.
"That's what you want."
"If the opposition hate what you're doing, it usually means you've made them uncomfortable."
He turned towards Kaká.
"Now finish them."
Kaká laughed.
Mourinho put a hand on his shoulder.
"One more."
Everyone knew what he meant.
Kaká had already scored twice.
One more goal would complete the first hat-trick of the season and take him one step closer to winning his wager with Ethan.
The commentators had their own view of the incident.
"It's a foolish reaction from Vieira," Andy Gray said.
"Mourinho clearly delays the restart, yes."
"But players see that every week."
"You cannot shove the opposing manager."
Martin Tyler agreed.
"Particularly when you've already been booked."
"This could hurt City beyond today's match."
"The FA may review the incident as well."
That possibility was real.
English football had been making a concerted effort to reduce violent conduct and confrontations around technical areas.
A captain physically pushing an opposition manager would attract attention.
Van Gaal understood how dangerous the situation had become.
He immediately changed his instructions.
Manchester City dropped deeper.
The priority was no longer chasing the match.
It was preventing a collapse.
Kompany began warming up.
The young Belgian was soon introduced to add another defensive body.
New Manchester United, meanwhile, smelled blood.
With the numerical advantage, they stopped relying so heavily on direct passes towards Drogba.
The ball moved quickly across midfield.
Short combinations replaced long clearances.
City were forced to chase.
In the eighty-seventh minute, the third goal arrived.
Evra advanced down the left.
Mills stepped across.
Evra found Ronaldo.
The Portuguese winger drove towards the byline and sent a low cross through the penalty area before Kolo Touré could block him.
Given read it well.
He came off his line and punched clear.
The ball did not travel far.
Kaká collected outside the area with Kompany closing.
Rather than force the shot, he laid possession back towards De Rossi.
De Rossi returned it immediately.
Kaká received with his back to goal.
Kompany stayed tight.
The young Belgian possessed enormous potential, but Kaká had too much experience in that situation.
One touch protected the ball.
The next shifted his body.
Then he turned.
Kompany was suddenly behind him.
Kaká drove a low shot towards goal.
The ball bounced just before reaching Given.
The goalkeeper moved in the right direction.
The awkward bounce beat him.
3-0.
Hat-trick.
Kaká spread his arms and ran towards the away section.
The New Manchester United supporters exploded.
His name echoed around Gigg Lane.
Teammates surrounded him.
Ronaldo jumped onto his back.
Messi arrived laughing.
Drogba grabbed him around the shoulders.
Even Mourinho celebrated more openly than usual, punching the air once with obvious satisfaction.
In the directors' area, the cameras found Caroline.
She was already crying.
This time there was no confusion about the gesture Kaká had made after his first goal.
One hat-trick completed.
Two remained.
Mourinho waited until the celebrations ended.
Then he called Agüero over.
Kaká's afternoon was finished.
The fourth official raised the board.
Number 8 off.
Agüero on.
Kaká received the loudest ovation of the day.
Even some Manchester City supporters applauded despite the score.
Three goals in an opening-day derby were difficult not to appreciate.
Kaká embraced Agüero as they crossed.
Then he hugged Mourinho.
He applauded the travelling supporters.
Rather than disappear down the tunnel, he remained beside the technical area to watch the final minutes with his teammates.
Agüero immediately changed the attacking rhythm.
He did not play like Kaká.
Kaká attacked space with long strides and devastating acceleration.
Agüero worked in tighter areas.
His centre of gravity was lower.
His touches were shorter.
His combinations with Messi were particularly natural.
The two had just spent the summer playing together for Argentina.
Manchester City were exhausted.
New Manchester United kept moving the ball.
In stoppage time, Agüero received a lay-off from Messi near the edge of the area.
He turned and tried to accelerate beyond Van Bommel.
The Dutch midfielder read it perfectly.
He stepped across, won the ball cleanly and knocked it out for a corner.
Agüero climbed back to his feet.
Drogba, waiting inside the box, looked at him and spread his arms with an exaggerated expression.
Agüero laughed.
Without Beckham or Michael Johnson on the pitch, Messi went across to take the corner.
The Argentine raised his left hand.
Then he delivered.
The ball curled towards the far post.
Manchester City's tallest defenders had gathered around the central zone.
Distin was occupied.
Yaya Touré defended the near side.
Ronaldo dragged Kolo Touré away from the back-post area.
Curtis arrived almost unnoticed.
Messi's delivery dropped perfectly.
Curtis rose.
He barely needed to jump.
One controlled header sent the ball down and into the net.
4-0.
For a moment, even Mourinho looked surprised.
A match that had been 0-0 at half-time had become a rout.
The travelling supporters were delirious.
Curtis sprinted towards them.
Terry chased him.
The rest of the team followed.
Curtis had always enjoyed set pieces.
So had Terry.
Mourinho deliberately designed dead-ball routines around the movement of his centre-backs because both attacked the ball aggressively.
Vidić gave him a third major aerial threat whenever he played.
Curtis was still only twenty, but nobody inside the club treated him like an inexperienced defender.
He had been playing senior football for four years.
He was already vice-captain.
He had grown up at Newton Heath.
Supporters regarded him as one of the clearest embodiments of the club itself.
Terry provided calm authority.
Curtis provided energy.
One was measured.
The other was constantly talking, directing and competing.
Together, they complemented each other almost perfectly.
Add Vidić, and Mourinho possessed three centre-backs he trusted at the highest level.
Few clubs in Europe could claim the same depth.
Chelsea's Cannavaro and Stam remained elite defenders, but both were entering the later stages of their careers.
New Manchester United's central defensive group still had years ahead of it.
Moments after Curtis's celebration ended, the referee blew the final whistle.
Manchester City 0-4 New Manchester United.
Mourinho walked towards Van Gaal.
His expression was almost cheerful.
Van Gaal's was not.
The Dutchman still extended his hand.
He had been comprehensively beaten, but he was not going to turn the defeat into a public scene.
The two managers shook hands.
Then Van Gaal leaned closer.
"You won this one."
His voice was quiet.
"December tenth will be different."
Mourinho smiled.
"I knew you were going to say that."
Van Gaal stared at him.
Mourinho continued.
"You see? I know you very well."
For the first time all afternoon, Van Gaal looked genuinely irritated.
Mourinho's smile widened.
"I'll be waiting."
Van Gaal released his hand and walked away.
Behind him, the New Manchester United players were still celebrating with the travelling supporters.
The first half had been a stalemate.
The second had become a statement.
Kaká had scored three.
Curtis added another.
Manchester City lost their captain.
Mourinho had finally beaten Van Gaal in exactly the way he wanted.
And the European champions had opened the Premier League season with four unanswered goals.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)