It was by no means remarkable or unexpected that Manchester City should dominate the derby against United. The gulf in class is evident, and as Paul Scholes pointed out afterwards, his United side never faced a City team that was this good. Still, the fact that nine of United’s starting XI predate Jose Mourinho at the club is an eyebrow-raiser and further confirmation of how much water has been treaded at Old Trafford. (The two who weren’t, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic, aren’t much to write home about.)
It also felt as if City never quite got out of third gear, possibly because they didn’t need to against a seemingly nonexistent midfield press. Mourinho cited fatigue from Wednesday’s Champions League exertions in Turin four days earlier. Maybe so. But then why not — especially in what is a free hit, since few expected much from United at the Etihad — give somebody else a go, like Eric Bailly or Matteo Darmian or Fred?
What stood out most though was the final minutes and the sequence leading up to City’s goal. Yes, 44 passes is impressive, but given the lack of intensity with which United tried to stop them, it felt as if they were passing through traffic cones. And bear in mind, the score at the time was 2-1 with Marouane Fellaini, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku all on the pitch; the chances of a late set-piece equaliser remained high.
When United did press — mostly with Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku, both of whom came on in the second half and thus were fresh — it was a case of individuals chasing whoever had the ball, not the sort of collective press you need if you want to win back the ball. It doesn’t take a genius to see this. Anybody who has played football at any level knows that if one guy presses and the others sit back, it simply won’t work.
Note that you don’t necessarily need to press to win back the ball, either. There are other ways you can do it, but the problem is United did nothing. And that, perhaps, is the most serious indictment. In recent games, we’ve seen Man United start slowly and then show commitment and intensity at the end, sometimes turning the result around, sometimes not, but always leaving everything out there with a concerted plan. Not on Sunday.
Mourinho obviously has a game plan for these situations. It’s not as if he thought it would be a good idea to play that way in the final minutes. The question is whether the players failed to take it on board or were simply incapable of executing it. And that was the most disappointing part from a United perspective.
As for City, they’re flying right now. Disrupting their flow is hugely difficult, even when United tried to crowd out the two Silvas, David and Bernardo, Fernandinho and John Stones then kept the creative build-up ticking over from further back. And they remain expert at stopping the opposition in transition; the only doubt, possibly, might be what happens if Fernandinho runs into a referee with a bee in his bonnet over tactical fouling.
This time last season, they had an eight-point lead. This year, they look even better, and if you wonder if the close proximity of Liverpool (two points back) and Chelsea (four back) might have something to do with it.
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