If it were a contest to find the most troubled club inside the M60, Manchester City were the derby winners. In every other respect, it was another disastrous day for them. In snatching defeat from the jaws from victory, they gave Ruben Amorim’s derby debut an unexpectedly happy ending. On a day when Amorim made a statement selection by omitting Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, the speedy winger he did select, Amad Diallo, etched his name into this fixture’s folklore, displaying the pace Pep Guardiola’s creaking team lack, first winning a penalty, then scoring a dramatic decider. “We have Fergie time and something magic happened,” said Amorim.
But for City, it was another capitulation, another collapse. After Feyenoord’s three goals in 15 minutes at the Etihad Stadium came United’s two in three. “Three-nil up against Feyenoord, we have to win that game,” said Guardiola. “Today, we have to win that game.” They did not. A team who lost a lead to Amorim’s Sporting last month repeated the feat against his Manchester United: but at home, but later, but when their plight is greater.
