Manchester City midfielder Rodri has pinned the Premier League leaders' rampant run of form on a dressing room inquest held earlier this season.
Pep Guardiola's team currently top the table with a 10-point advantage over neighbours United - and will be able to extend the gap by another three points with a win over Arsenal on Sunday.
The situation was much more bleak for City back in November, however, after a stuttering start to the campaign left them languishing in 14th spot.
The 2-0 defeat by Tottenham left City clinging on to faint hopes of a title challenge - but, as Rodri has now explained, a meeting between the players helped kickstart their remarkable charge up the table.
He told Sky Sports: 'In the first period of the season, we weren't playing well individually and collectively but this changed once we got together and spoke more about how we could work together.
'We had a meeting and talked to each other. We analysed what was happening and how the team could do better.
'We all agreed that every player could do a little bit more for the team. I feel it's the reason why we're doing so well right now as there are lots of players who are currently playing at an incredible level.'
The turnaround in form has seen City fail to trail in a top flight fixture since - and, with both United and Leicester dropping points, the four-time champions look set to saunter to yet another crown.
City's rich vein of goalscoring from has proved a major factor behind their 17-game winning streak - although their record from the penalty spot needs improvement.
The win at Liverpool was marked by another poor spot-kick, and four of the last six penalties to have been fired off target completely have been from City players.
Rodri stepped up to the spot against Tottenham, City's seventh different taker in just over a season and a half, and scored - and has insisted he would do it again.
The successful effort from 12 yards was the first penalty of his professional career.
'It was a specific moment where I felt confident,' he added. 'The team needed someone to step forward to show they could take the penalty because we'd missed lots of them in important games.
'Next time if I can shoot then I will, no problem. But the point was just to show the team that we can be confident taking them as they're important in deciding big games.'