Manchester United Derby Win over Manchester City a Warning to the Premier League

OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER — Manchester United aren't back. Not yet, anyway. But their derby victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford suggests they are on their way.

United won't be fully rebuilt until they're winning trophies again. And not just any trophies. The biggest and the best. The Premier League title and the Champions League. And not just winning them once. Winning them again and again, just like Sir Alex Ferguson did.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Louis van Gaal was blunt in his post-match television interview with Sky. Asked what a first win over City meant to him, he replied, "three points." He is, of course, right, and United's victory, however significant, didn't lift them any higher than third in the table.

Van Gaal, you would think, will hope to remedy that next season. And victory over City, United's first at Old Trafford since 2011, is proof that he's on the right track.

It was against City last season that United looked so inept. Swept aside in both games, the gap between the two teams never looked bigger. City in the ascendancy as United's empire crumbled. It looked to be the other way around on Sunday. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

Barring a catastrophic collapse from Chelsea in the final few weeks, United won't win anything this season. But they're doing a good job of showing how they plan to next year.

Wins over Liverpool and City have brought United to the brink of securing a return to the Champions League. But they are also statements of intent.

It's those types of games that they'll need to win if they are going to challenge for the title next season. Showing they can do it, and in a pressurised run-in with a place in the top four on the line, is half the battle.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Expectations were low at Old Trafford this season. It was a hangover from a disastrous 10 months under David Moyes. But Van Gaal has shown they needn't be next season. If they can beat Liverpool and City, then they're not far away from challenging for the title.

Putting four past Manuel Pellegrini's side eased some of the derby pain that has been inflicted on United fans over the last five years. More than that, it took Van Gaal within touching distance of the Champions League and his key target.

But it should also serve as a warning to the rest of the Premier League that United look to be on their way back. They're not there yet, but under Van Gaal, it looks to be coming.