Protesting Man United fans showed more passion than both teams in this most docile of derbies… club legends must have wondered what they were watching, writes CHRIS WHEELER
- Protesting Man United supporters showed more passion than both these teams
- City were poor and United were simply not good enough to take advantage
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! The signs that Ruben Amorim’s Man United side are getting there
Credit to the Manchester United fans who staged a sit-in after this most docile of derbies because it must have been hard enough sitting through it in the first place.
Showing more passion than these two teams managed in 90 mind-numbing minutes of football, they protested against the way the club is being run.
But you couldn’t pin this on the Glazers or Sir Jim Ratcliffe. This was on the men in red and blue who shadow boxed their way through the 196th Manchester derby and then embraced warmly in the evening sunshine at the end.
‘They’re going for a roast dinner now,’ sniffed Gary Neville over on Sky Sports.
‘The love-in that I’m watching tells you that both teams feel happy with a 0-0. I think the best Manchester City teams and the best Manchester United teams would be very disappointed at the end of that game with the way they approached it.
‘It’s not good enough. I feel disappointed. It’s a Manchester derby and it should have more blood, thunder, risk and courage involved in trying to win the game than that.’
Credit to the Manchester United supporters who staged a sit-in protest after the most docile of derbies – it must have been hard enough sitting through the goalless draw in the first place
Both sides shadow boxed their way through the game before embracing each other at the end
Ruben Amorim broke into a smile before Gary Neville ripped into the display at Old Trafford
Asked about Neville’s comments afterwards, United head coach Ruben Amorim broke into a smile before the question had even finished.
‘I understand Gary Neville is critical about everything!’ he fired back. ‘We are in the moment that we are doing the worst season in history. Manchester City are struggling. We are not in the moments to give the best spectacle.
‘We are not fighting for the best things. I understand the critical feelings of the players who played in this game in a different way.’
Nothing summed up the phoney war better than an altercation in the 55th minute when Manuel Ugarte fouled Bernardo Silva and was then tripped by Ruben Dias.
Ugarte bumped into Dias and they exchanged words before Silva confronted the Uruguayan with a two-handed shove so weak it was almost apologetic.
Up in the stands at Old Trafford, legends like Eric Cantona, Mike Summerbee and Peter Schmeichel must have wondered just what it was they were watching. There’s nothing like a good Manchester derby, and this was nothing like a good Manchester derby.
Any needle was limited to the two sets of fans as United goaded their rivals with chants of ‘cheating b*******’ over the 115 Premier League charges facing the club and singled out Phil Foden for personal abuse about his mother. Goodness knows there was very little about the football to get them excited.
And it all started so well. Alejandro Garnacho galloping clear and Dias fouling him on the edge of the box inside the first 40 seconds, bringing Old Trafford to its feet. By the time referee John Brooks brought the derby to an end, it was only the sit-in protesters who couldn’t wait to get out of the place.
The phoney war was encapsulated by a weak two-handed shove involving Manuel Ugarte (left)
Club legends like Eric Cantona must have wondered just what it was they were watching
City were poor and United were simply not good enough to take advantage
City were poor and United simply not good enough to take advantage in a game of little consequence. Opportunities like this to beat a Pep Guardiola side don’t come along very often.
One of the few positives was that it presented a gentle warm-up to Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final in Lyon.
Luke Shaw returned on the bench for the first time since Amorim’s third game in charge at the start of December, although he didn’t get on, and Harry Maguire started for the first time since a four-match absence through injury in place of Matthijs de Ligt.
Maguire came off in the 58th minute but Amorim allayed fears that the defender may have suffered a setback. ‘It was game management,’ he said. ‘We have an important game on Thursday and we couldn’t risk him for more than 60 minutes.’
If United play with the same lack of intensity in France, they can kiss goodbye to their last chance of a trophy and another season of Champions League football.
