Only Klopp and Jose would have enjoyed that!

THE only people who would have taken any pleasure from watching that game are Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho. I imagine they enjoyed it with a nice glass of wine and a smile on their faces. They will have watched it and thought: this is not a Manchester City team for us to fear. That was not the Pep Guardiola side that we are used to seeing. They did not press high, they dropped off. They went into a game against a Manchester United side low on confidence, having just been dumped out of the Champions League, with two holding midfielders.

Where was that intensity that we are so used to seeing? This wasn’t Pep’s City. I have always been one of the first to eulogise Guardiola and the freedom and creativity in his teams. But this was a bizarre performance.

Yes, this is their sixth clean sheet on the spin in all competitions. That’s some achievement and a clear improvement on their achilles heel last season. But they are behind in the title race. They have failed to beat any of the teams above them in the table so far. They have scored fewer goals than West Ham, Aston Villa, Leicester, Southampton, Manchester United and Everton. The same number as Crystal Palace.

The lack of creativity was there to see. What I struggle to understand is why Pep did nothing to try to change it. He left Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva on the bench. He kept both defensive midfielders on the pitch. He only made one substitution and that was like-forlike.

It just looked like a game where both sets of players were happy with a 0-0. Harry Maguire and Raheem Sterling shared a joke. The United captain and John Stones had a smiley chat after the game. This is a derby. I don’t remember ever giggling after playing Everton or United, especially if we didn’t win.

WOULD they have been having a laugh on the pitch if the fans had been at Old Trafford? No chance. They would have made their thoughts clear. I think having fans in would have suited City. After the Champions League disappointment for United in midweek, their fans would have been craving blood. They would have wanted United to get on the front foot, going for the win. They would not have accepted sitting off and being pragmatic. That may well have played into City’s hands.

So I understand why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played with such caution. Had he followed up the Champions League exit by going gung-ho and getting spanked, that would have put him under real pressure.

I just do not understand why we saw it from Guardiola. That lack of intensity and desire from City, especially in attack, is something we have never seen.

They have set the standard of dominating teams, even to the point of making themselves vulnerable. I would have understood it had this been against Tottenham or Liverpool, but this was a United side with one home win in the league all season.

Maybe he thought they have played a lot of games in a short space of time. Maybe he thought it is difficult to play with their usual intensity with so many games coming up. Maybe he thinks, after last season, his teams need to be harder to beat. Guardiola has certainly got them more organised than last season.

The full-backs did not bomb on as much. Kyle Walker did not overlap. They did not press as high.

The one player getting frustrated was Kevin De Bruyne. You could see he was getting annoyed with them sitting off. He was the only one with some tempo in his play.

I thought John Stones was excellent. He has been hammered in recent times and sometimes I think harshly treated. I have always been a big fan. He got cast aside a bit quickly but showed great desire to get back into the side. To keep Aymeric Laporte t akes s ome doing.

But he was one of few bright lights. I’ve been waiting for City to explode into life all season but here was a group of players who maybe haven’t been given the freedom they once enjoyed; maybe they were fatigued, maybe they are in a comfort zone with players who have enjoyed a lot of success.

Who knows. But what is for certain is that if City continue to play with this mindset, I do not see them regaining the title.