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.
It was an eighth defeat in 11 games for a manager who has been a byword for winning. Guardiola finished with the now familiar chorus of “sacked in the morning” ringing in his ears. His melodramatic reaction when Matheus Nunes conceded the spot kick that Bruno Fernandes was to convert showed his fears about the fragility of this side. They duly lost. Again.
“We can’t defend that,” added Guardiola. “It’s not about this or that player. We gave away goals, our fault.” Bernardo Silva was still more blunt. “Stupid decisions,” he said. “In the last minute we played like under-15s.”
The City inquest can begin with those crazy few minutes. Shorn of Rashford and Garnacho, Amad had appeared United’s principal – perhaps only – threat. He had drawn a fine save from Ederson after an hour, a diminutive figure winning the header in the box. With only three fully fit and available senior defenders, Guardiola had deployed the midfielder Nunes to stop him, opting for one of his few fast players to take on a roadrunner. And, after 85 minutes, it felt a successful ploy.
Then Amad’s willingness to chase anything and everything was rewarded. He intercepted Nunes’ poor back pass and, as the Portuguese hurtled into the box in a bid to make amends, he instead made things worse for City, fouling the Ivorian. Fernandes duly beat Ederson. “Now we have the feeling, with one mistake, we are going to concede a goal,” said Guardiola.
And from a City perspective, perhaps the winner was still worse. Lisandro Martinez pumped a long ball forward. Tehe City defence were paralysed by indecision while Amad sped in behind. Ederson’s traumatic times continued as he was caught in no-man’s land, Amad’s first touch looping the ball over him. His second was to finish from an acute angle. It was an extraordinary turnaround. If City extended Erik ten Hag’s time in charge of United by losing the FA Cup final to them, perhaps they kickstarted Amorim’s reign at a point when he was on the brink of suffering a third straight league defeat.
The 39-year-old had displayed a bravery in his selection. He dropped Rashford and Garnacho altogether. “It was not a disciplinary thing,” he insisted; nor a long term one, he claimed. “Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places.” Yet he left himself lacking attacking options, with still fewer when Mason Mount limped off. The thought occurred that he was sacrificing a match to try and impose his standards. Instead, he got the rich vindication of victory.
United arguably merited it. They had carved out the game’s best chance when Fernandes dinked a shot wide after Noussair Mazraoui and Rasmus Hojlund combined to pierce the City defence. It was, though, a match short of opportunities, low on quality. Even when winning, City looked a shadow of their all-conquering side, lacking fluency, with a curiosity of a side as Guardiola crammed in six midfielders of various descriptions in an attempt to compensate for defensive absentees. The banners and chants about their four consecutive Premier League titles only served as a reminder that this side will not win a fifth.
But they were leading. United’s Achilles heel under Amorim is set-pieces. Even with his assistant, Carlos Fernandes, patrolling the edge of the technical area, they conceded from a corner for the fourth time in three league games. They could plead an element of misfortune, because even then the ubiquitous Amad played a part. After Kevin de Bruyne traded passes with Ilkay Gundogan, the Belgian’s cross deflected off Amad and looped up nicely for Josko Gvardiol to rise above Hojlund and head in. The defender went out on his own as City’s second top scorer this season, which is a problem in itself. Their top scorer, Erling Haaland, was starved of service, well patrolled by Harry Maguire in a game he has dominated in the past.
City looked disjointed. They lacked urgency and creativity. They barely had more of the ball than United, though Guardiola’s side was packed with passers and Amorim’s with defenders. City’s stoppers, meanwhile, did not distinguish themselves: Kyle Walker made an embarrassing attempt to get Hojlund sent off. They have now conceded 25 goals in their last 11 matches.
And they have won just one of them. It should have been two. “In the past maybe I could presume we could win with two minutes left,” said Guardiola. Not any more. Now there seems no such thing as a guarantee of a win for City. Not even when they are a goal up, at home, with a few minutes to go and against a weakened United team.
