Fergie forced to endure sad Red shadows
SIR ALEX FERGUSON took his seat in the directors’ box and will have been squirming in it from start to finish.
Not because part of him was itching to get out there and sort out the mess his beloved Manchester United found themselves in.
Fergie was the greatest manager of them all, but even he would surely have been powerless to stop the footballing forces at work against United here.
If truth be known, Fergie will have been relieved he is now sat in the comfy seats instead of the hot one.
Instead, his discomfort will have come more from what he saw in red instead of light blue.
United were a pathetic imitation of the sides Fergie used to send out. In Fergie’s time United were all about blood, thunder, passion and flair – sides that attacked with abandon.
Flaws
Just imagine his horror at witnessing the 2018 version – a side incapable of escaping their own half at times due to a chronic lack of ambition and flair.
Jose Mourinho’s masterplan was to defend deep and hit Manchester City on the break. But his logic had two major flaws.
Having adapted defensive tactics in the absence of Paul Pogba, United didn’t defend – while breaking from deep required United to string some passes together.
When David Silva fired City ahead inside 12 minutes, United had managed just 11 successful passes in total.
These two sides might share the same neighbourhood, but not a footballing ethos.
United went minutes at a time without touching the ball, which is an age at this level – and a painful reminder to United of the fact their biggest rivals remain in a different class to them.
It was difficult not to feel sorry for them at times and not least Ander Herrera, who was given the task of man-marking Silva.
His fellow Spaniard was majestic throughout, not just because of his opening goal but because of how he controlled the game with his vision, passing and anticipation.
There have been some wonderful foreign talents to grace the Premier League down the years but none of them can quite compare to the man known as ‘Merlin’.
Silva is so good that Sergio Aguero has even dyed his hair that very colour in tribute to his team-mate.
But if one Silva doesn’t get you another one does, and Bernardo Silva appears to have become the perfect man to succeed his namesake when he hangs up his golden boots.
United where left seeing stars when Aguero lashed home City’s second goal – and most of those stars were in blue.
None, however, shone brighter than David Silva, and when the playmaker was taken off on 90 minutes all of his team-mates went over to shake his hand.
One fan sat behind Mourinho held up a card labelling the Portuguese a ‘Master of Delusion’.
If Mourinho genuinely believes United can compete with Pep Guardiola’s side for the major trophies then the supporter in question might have a valid point.
Because it just isn’t going to happen.
JEREMY CROSS