It must be a strange situation for Manchester United fans to be in at the minute. For such a long time the Red Devils were the dominant force in England, not just Manchester. Now their noisy neighbours are head and shoulders above them in terms of quality. There was not much of a gap between the two until Pep Guardiola’s arrival. Now there is a massive distance between the two teams.
Derby result illustrates the gulf in quality
As anybody reading this article will know by now, Manchester City recorded a 3-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
It felt like a comfortable victory for City, who as expected dominated the first half possession, but only failed to score a second goal until the second half period. In truth, despite United getting a goal in the second half through an Anthony Martial penalty, the Red Devils created by little else, whereas City continued to look dangerous in attack.
For me, the game did not have the usual intensity of a Manchester derby. City could have been playing anybody, as it just felt like a routine victory for Pep Guardiola’s side in the end.
United not in the same league
After the defeat, United boss Mourinho talked about concentrating on challenging for the top-four, as the Red Devils are now 12 points behind their arch-rivals, who lead the table.
Manchester United boss Mourinho can complain about the Red Devils having a more difficult midweek game or anything he likes, as at the end of the day United are not in the same league as the current City team. Fair enough, City have spent big money achieving their aims of dominating the Premier League. However, United always spent big by comparison to stay strong in the glory days of Alex Ferguson.
United have also spent big sums of money under Mourinho in the last few years in an attempt to keep up with the Red Devils. The result at the minute is a massive wage bill and a team struggling to force their way into the top four.
The recruitment of players since Ferguson retired has been absolutely dire. When United used to spend big they would bring in a quality player, like when they signed Rio Ferdinand or Wayne Rooney.
Mourinho may not have City’s billions at his disposal, but he has spent big on the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba. The pair each cost more than any player City have ever signed. Whether any other boss could do a better job is debatable. Even former United hero Gary Neville stated on Sky Sports he was unsure if a different boss would bring better results.
City look unstoppable
Manchester City look unstoppable at the moment. The Manchester derby is one of the few games each season where you think that the Citizens may actually slip-up and give their title rivals a chance, but no such look for the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.
City are the heavy favourites at odds of 1/ 4 to win the Premier League title this season. Second place Liverpool have one well to stay within touching distance of the Citizens so far this season.
It looks doubtful that Jurgen Klopp’s team can sustain the same level of consistency as Pep Guardiola’s side until the end of the season. If they do then it could be an extremely exciting title race.
Manchester United need to seriously improve or they are in massive danger of missing out on finishing in the Champions League places this season.
Can anybody stop Manchester City winning the league this season?
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