RAPHAEL VARANE reckons “everything is possible” for Manchester United as they roared into title contention with their derby victory.
The Red Devils’ incredible 2-1 comeback win at Old Trafford on Saturday made it five league wins on the bounce to move just a point behind second-placed Manchester City.
Now talk of a tilt at top spot in the second half of the season is no longer just a dream — even though the gap to leaders Arsenal is nine points.
Defender Varane insisted: “Everything is possible. We’ll just take it game by game. It’s a long way to go and it’s very difficult.
“The intensity of every game is incredible, the physical effort. It’s like the same intensity of a big Champions League game. The rhythm is very high.
“But the players are very well prepared physically. We know how difficult it is. But we’re solid, we’re strong. We just need to use the quality players with the ball.”
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United celebrated wildly at the final whistle after late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford saw off the champions.
And Varane was in the thick of it, leading the fist-pumping cheers in front of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.
The France World Cup winner, 29, said: “It was special. It’s a stadium with a magnificent atmosphere. At the end, I felt a connection with the fans.
“To do that against a big rival, in our home . . . we live stronger with this. It was beautiful.”
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Varane hailed the tactical approach of boss Erik ten Hag as City were allowed 71 per cent possession but only one effort on target — Jack Grealish’s opener — their lowest in the Premier League this season.
Centre-back Varane said: “We prepared so well tactically for this game with the Mister (the manager). We spoke a lot with him, we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
“We know City press, they have a lot of the ball. So we chose when to press and where to close the spaces.
“We knew where to hurt them and we have players up front who are very fast. We had to use our fast players.
“After the first goal, we didn’t let our heads drop, even though we conceded a goal in our home. But we also knew that we had the energy of the fans.
“We continued to follow our plan. Then we scored and that changed the whole game.”
United looked a different team to the one trounced 6-3 at the Etihad on October 2 — and Varane puts that down to more time working with the manager, who only joined this summer.
He said: “We know better now what the Mister wants and how he wants to do it.
“We’ve seen the evolution in this team. It was a complete game at a high level.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
