United were not humiliated ...but they still fell well short

ULTIMATELY, it would not have mattered if Zlatan Ibrahimovic had arrived to write a fresh set of superman headlines, or if Ederson had not made the double save, or if justice had not been done. One team looked like champions, the other like, well, a very decent team. Manchester United defended well, competed, were not humiliated, as some have been by Manchester City. They were just short. Well short. Which is why with less than half the season gone they are 11 points behind. As the Champions League last-16 draw today will show, there are good teams in the Premier League — this being the first time five teams from one country have been sent into the knockout stage. Yet only one team are performing at City’s level. So even if United had snatched a result that suggested the title race is open, it would be unlikely to make much difference long-term. Over the season, City’s superiority would show. They will get results where United don’t. They are just better. It can be argued that United missed Paul Pogba and several defenders, but City had defensive absentees, too. What they had that United did not were forwards expressing themselves and at the top of their game. No United player, on form, would be preferred to Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Leroy Sane, even Gabriel Jesus. United have a strong forward line but they are not City strong. They don’t have City’s invention or ambition. Jose Mourinho played on the counter attack because he knew, in a slug-fest, he wouldn’t have a chance. He had to try to plan a way through and it nearly worked. Had Ederson not made two brave blocks, one with his face, United would have escaped with 2-2. Yet would that have been good enough? Not really. United needed a win to dent City’s confidence. Someone needs to show they are not invincible — maybe Tottenham next weekend — because their recent results are those of a team whose self-belief could hardly be higher. Frank Lampard said that at their peak under Mourinho, Chelsea came to think of themselves as unbeatable. They could play the noon kick-off on Saturday, he said, and if someone said they had to play at 5.30pm that afternoon, they would have done that as well. Nobody felt tired or vulnerable. That is where Guardiola has City. They went a goal down to Huddersfield and won 2-1; were drawing with Southampton until the last minute and won 2-1; were behind against West Ham and won 2-1; and now another 2-1 victory, the fourth on the turn domestically. United equalised just before half-time, after City had dominated, and that setback could have damaged lesser players. Not City. Guardiola’s men came out and played the same way. Silva was exceptional — up for the fight, not just a clever schemer — Sterling never stopped taking the ball to United. And while City have kept one clean sheet in the league since October 21, they have also scored more than one goal in every league match since Chelsea on September 30 — so they are getting away with it. United had 35 per cent of the ball, their lowest figure in a game at Old Trafford since 2003-04. So it was City who made the play, who took it to United, who showed courage, who took the risk of being caught on the break, who played like champions. They are not, of course, and there could be twists between now and May. Injuries, European commitments, the holiday fixture programme. Yet we have seen some very good teams go against City this season, and they all look like rivals, not peers. There’s a difference, and it was plain at Old Trafford.