This was a terrible match for neutral fans. The Manchester derby at Old Trafford ended in a 0-0 draw. Manchester United only had one shot on target, while Man City had an expected goals of 0.35 xG. Both teams seemed to lack the necessary determination.
Man United's priority seems to be to gradually adapt to Ruben Amorim's tactics. Meanwhile, Man City wants to rely on the breakthroughs of their most skillful and creative players such as Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne. As a result, the Citizens lacked pace in their attacks. Their only motivation on the pitch came from Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden.
This was quite clear in the first half when Man City only had 4 shots with a total xG of 0. 14. Pep Guardiola's first change came in the 60th minute, when he replaced Foden with Jeremy Doku. He was replaced twice by Jack Grealish to replace Gundogan, while Rico Lewis replaced Nico O'Reilly. However, Man City's attacking play has not improved much since then.
Taking a point at Old Trafford, where seven of the previous 16 away teams have picked up three, does not seem to be in line with Guardiola's ambitions. The lackluster draw against Man United saw The Citizens drop to sixth in the table.
At the end of the match, when Man United were in control, Savinho and Nico Gonzalez - the least energetic players - were still on the bench of Man City. Erling Haaland's injury has had a big impact on the Citizens, but not to the point where Guardiola has promoted safety so much.
Everyone expects Guardiola to use a suitable squad when traveling to Old Trafford. And if not, he should also find the necessary changes in the match. Even if it is not to win, it is at least to compete. Surprisingly, Man City were completely helpless.
For Man United, if they cannot win all 7 remaining matches, they will finish with the lowest total points in the Premier League since 1990. But at least there is still a Europa League for Amorim's side to hope for.
In fact, there were still bright spots from the "Red Devils" performance against Man City. Now, their attention will be on the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Lyon before thinking about a strong reform this summer.
