14 January 2023 , 15:45
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When it became clear Bruno Fernandes’ goal was going to stand, Pep Guardiola took a break from berating the fourth official to try and get a message to his players.
In the din, he had to resort to sign language and pointed to his temples with two fingers. Get your minds back on the job, that was the gist. They didn’t and they lost, lost the plot, lost a second goal and lost the game, simple as that.
True, Manchester City were stitched up by a whopping ‘homer’ of a decision but it is also true that they were not fluent enough, not clinical enough, not creative enough, not ruthless enough. They were clearly the more accomplished team but struggled badly to make their superiority count, even though Jack Grealish’s header looked likely to be enough against a Manchester United team that was set up to play purely on the counter-attack.
City had 70 percent of possession - you could say City ‘enjoyed’ 70 percent of possession but, at times, it did not look like it.
Years and years of Guardiola intensity must take its toll at some stage and City appear to be in a phase in which the demands are weighing heavily on certain players. That is perfectly understandable - it has happened along the M62 at Anfield.
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Kevin De Bruyne, for example, is allowed the odd dip in form and an unhappy World Cup seems to have prompted this particular, temporary decline.
Sure, he produced a superb movement and assist to provide Grealish with his goal a couple of minutes after the £100million man came on.
But to see De Bruyne caught in possession by Fred was alarming but largely symptomatic of an afternoon when - apart from the assist for the goal that turned out to be in vain - little went right for the Belgian..
Pep Guardiola saw his side fall to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford (Getty Images)It did not help that Guardiola had again tweaked his system, using Erling Haaland as an occasional false nine, depriving De Bruyne of a key option.
With Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden under strict instructions to stay wide, it meant City showed very little menace through the central areas, hence their inability to muster any significant goal threat in the first half.
Added to the 90-odd minutes of the Carabao Cup match at Southampton, who would have thought any Guardiola team - no matter how sizable the dip in form - would go over three hours without managing an effort on target from open play.
That is why there was so much huffing and puffing, Rodri often looking exasperated at the contributions of some of his team-mates. His dissatisfaction could not have been directed towards Ederson, who escaped with one rush of blood but also made a fine stop at the feet of Marcus Rashford, who would eventually prod in the winner.
In his uniquely creative way, Ederson tried to spark matters from the very back but, essentially, City were painfully flat in the first half.
Man City players surround the referee after Bruno Fernandes' equaliser (PA)They were far better for thirty minutes of the second half but could still not use their possession and growing midfield dominance to fashion a great number of clear chances. When Bernardo Silva headed an obvious scoring opportunity back across goal - aiming for a team-mate - it summed up City’s over-elaborate approach.
That team-mate was Haaland, who had the most frustrating of afternoons, dropping deeper than we have seen him and deprived of imaginative service. Without a goal in a couple of Premier League matches, Haaland’s wider role will begin to come under increasing scrutiny.
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When he is not scoring, does he become a problem for Pep? The answer is probably yes but, of course, you have to leave him on because of his threat. That is one of a few dilemmas Guardiola will have to grapple with ahead of Thursday’s game against Spurs.
His players did not manage to do it at Old Trafford, but Pep needs to keep a calm head and get this stuttering City team flowing again.
This was a setback but hardly a catastrophe.