This may well go down as one of the most shameful derby defeats in Manchester United’s long history. They are the Damned United on this spineless evidence. By the end it was a capitulation, a collapse, a collective embarrassment with Manchester City utterly humiliating them.

It really did look like United had given up or maybe, more charitably, they were just run ragged and although their former captain, turned pundit, Roy Keane is never slow to use harsh language his verdict of “unforgivable” had resonance. This deserves a reckoning and yet another realisation of how far they have fallen behind.

There have been so many mistakes made at United over the past decade but going into this crucial encounter with a formation that allowed free rein to Kevin de Bruyne added to that woeful list.

The City captain scored twice, with Riyad Mahrez scoring two more, to re-establish their lead at the top of the table back to six points and with that severely damage United’s more modest hopes of simply finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

United now find themselves down to fifth, not just a point behind Arsenal but having also played three games more and if this was a good day for De Bruyne it was a wretched one for the man wearing the United armband. Harry Maguire’s season has fallen apart, he looks forlorn, bereft of belief and he was ‘nutmegged’ for two goals with a third deflecting off him.

Maguire was given a torrid time by Phil Foden, excelling as a ‘false nine’. Maguire also cynically hacked down De Bruyne, in an admission that he could not compete, and was booked as the midfielder yet again skipped past him.

But Maguire was not alone. United’s defence looked scared. They were simply awful: Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alex Telles. What an expensive bunch of misfits although neither were they helped by the tactics of interim manager Ralf Ranfnick who started with Paul Pogba, who he withdrew after an hour, and Bruno Fernandes as his furthest players forward and thereby allowing vast swathes of the pitch for City to exploit – which they duly did. They probably could not believe their luck.

Which coaching manual suggests it is a good idea to stretch your own team, to not remain compact or shield your defence and allow the best possession team in Europe time and space on the ball? Playing 4-2-4, at times, against City… really?

But that is what United attempted or, possibly, how the players interpreted it. Do they really care? There was no Cristiano Ronaldo and no Edinson Cavani and with Marcus Rashford on the bench until he replaced Pogba: this appeared an astonishing solution.

United tried to ‘cheat’ and keep up to four players forward but although they were more of a threat in the first half it emphatically did not work – and never looked like working – and, for that, Rangnick has questions to answer as he contemplates the prospect of failing in the minimum requirement he was set: finishing fourth. He played into Pep Guardiola’s hands in a game United could not afford to lose with the outstanding De Bruyne departing to a standing ovation as he was substituted.

The opening goal summed it all up. While everyone was trying to work out United’s set-up – including it seemed the United players themselves – possession was cheaply given away, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva combined, the latter easily surged past Lindelof and cut the ball back for De Bruyne to finish.

Jadon Sancho celebrates scoring against his old club
Jadon Sancho celebrates scoring against his old club.

Attention focused on Maguire, who was slow to react, but the fault also lay with Jadon Sancho and Fernandes who stood on the edge of the penalty area watching it all happen, and Telles who responded too late. None of them had the gumption to track De Bruyne who claimed his 50th Premier League goal and would soon have his 51st.

Before that, though, United scored a fine goal of their own and if Rangnick may use it as evidence that his tactics could work it was soon overwhelmed. Still it was Pogba staying up field that sprung United forward as he swept a cross field pass to Jadon Sancho. The former City winger ran at the defence with Fernandes’ intelligent decoy run pulling Kyle Walker across and allowing Sancho to cut inside and arc a fine right-foot shot around Rodri and into the corner of the goal.

Sancho would later balloon over but that was it from United; that goal was the one highlight. Otherwise they were overwhelmed and holding on. After Foden looped a header onto the crossbar he wonderfully flicked the ball over Lindelof, chested it forward and although his shot was parried by David De Gea, with Bernardo’s follow-up also blocked it rebounded off Telles to De Bruyne who steadied himself and drove City back into the lead.- The Telegraph