Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United: It all goes wrong

Manchester City were absolutely exposed as a six-minute stretch of counter-attacking football saw the Blues fall at home to rivals United.

Although Manchester City put on some good displays of football at various points in the Manchester Derby, the eternal enemy got the best of them as United walked away from the Etihad with all three points in a 2-1 win.

United made the most of an early spell of pressure, putting several shots on Ederson’s goal before Bernardo Silva foolishly gave away a penalty on Marcus Rashford. The in-form forward quickly dispatched from the spot, with VAR overturning referee Anthony Taylor’s on-field decision. The second quickly followed with lackadaisical defending from the home side as Anthony Martial doubled the advantage off the inside of the post. The home side desperately missed all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Agüero in attack, and just didn’t have the cutting edge to finish good play for a lot of the game.

City played well toward the end of the first half and for much of the second, with substitute Nicolás Otamendi finding the back of the net, although it proved too little too late. This was a performance characteristic of City this season: simply not good enough at the back. No team will score four or five goals every game, and when United lead by two at the break, the game was already too far gone.

With a 14-point gap to leaders Liverpool, the focus must now turn to securing top four and gearing up for a Champions League run in February, if it hadn’t already. Not all good things last forever, and this two-season run was truly remarkable. Manager Pep Guardiola’s Citizens made history at unprecedented levels in the English game, and while winning a third straight title would have added to that legacy, the ultimate jewel in the crown of the best era in club history would be the Champions League trophy.

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For years after winning titles under coaches Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, City would fail to keep consistent excellence in the following seasons. Although it is easy to be angry or frustrated today, I firmly believe the right approach is to simply appreciate and be thankful for what has been a special last two years. It may be difficult to swallow, but the perfect blueprint for the rest of the season is to defend the title of champions with pride, send a salute to runaway champions-elect Liverpool, and view this as an opportunity.

Looking forward, there are obvious needs in the transfer market looking forward to ensure a lost season like this never happens again, but they will be addressed. City have one of the world’s best teams, the best coach in football, and a stable board and ownership committed to excellence. They may have lost the battle with United today, but even the most ardent Red Devils supporter would trade any victory over their rivals for the success City have enjoyed across the last two seasons.

The biggest objective of this season is still out there in a wide-open field. It is time to prove once and for all that this team has what it takes to win the Champions League. With no extremely tight league race to focus on week-in, week-out, there are no more excuses. We go again.