Some have been saying that this derby loss was worse than the 6-3 a few years ago. I think it's more the manner of the defeat rather than the score line that has caused people to think in this way.
We did score 3 goals in that game even if we conceded 6 and that was against a City side that went on to win the treble. This City side was definitely there for the taking. We came into this game higher than them in the table and actually played decent football at times, but due to poor mistakes, lack of concentration and the same issues we've faced in the past, we were defeated.
And the problem was, we defeated ourselves.
1. Intensity
One of the things I've noticed with United this season is our intensity: it's actually quite good,
in moments.
We know that United have been called 'Moments FC' due to relying on out of the blue instances to get us goals rather than anything sustainable and I feel like that is the same with the intensity.
United started off quite slow as within a minute, City were in our box and Erling Haaland had a snapshot from a tight angle that went just wide. An early warning sign for Amorim.
His side did wake up from there and started to get on the ball a bit more while pressing City in dangerous areas. United and Ugarte were particularly good at getting the ball off of Rodri of all players. This created some good openings but we failed to make the most of them.
Once Phil Foden scored in the 18th minute however, that intensity went down.
The home side then began to take control and were on the front foot from then on. They didn't create any chances thereafter but United were out of the game. We struggled to get a hold of the ball and our opponents were playing through us with ease. That is how they got the goal as Jeremy Doku dribbled his way past a few United players before crossing the ball onto an unmarked Foden's head.
This drop in intensity could be down to the dropping of heads which is synonymous with United. We need to keep the intensity levels up all game as we do look good when we are up there in terms of that energy.
Why we drop all of a sudden is something that Amorim needs to solve. On the other hand, the fact that it is there at all is an improvement in itself.
2. Lack of Final Third Quality
Again, another issue that has been there for many years.
United were in City's final third or box relatively often in this match. The player that had the most joy was actually Dorgu who was a constant threat down the left flank. Unfortunately, he lacked the quality or the decision-making to make the most of being in dangerous areas.
He wasn't the only one as Amad failed to create anything and other than his volley, even Mbeumo struggled with that creativity. Sesko was a bystander up front as he had nothing going his way.
Just a word on the Slovenian, this was his first start in the league and to play against City was never going to be easy yet I thought he did well all things considered. His hold up play was good, his link up play improved as the match went on, he won a decent amount of headers. He even had a chance when he was through on goal after a good run in behind. Nothing came off of it but it showed us something. We needed to get him more involved.
United had just one fewer shot than City (12) but only 2 were on target, one was more of a back pass to Gianluigi Donnarumma from Sesko and the other was that volley by Mbeumo. Half chances at best.
We also ended up having more possession than them and more crosses but out of 23, we had just a 26.1% crossing accuracy (Opta) which showed how ineffectual we were with balls into the box.
No point us having these stats in our favour, which is a good thing, but not actually doing anything. We really don't make the most of being on top.
3. Find A Way To Lose
I find that we aren't a hard team to beat. Regardless of how we play, oppositions don't actually have to do too much to end up getting something from the game or in Burnley's case, almost getting something.
All 3 goals were preventable. City didn't get out of third gear and with us being wasteful, it means that oppositions are always in with a chance of getting something from the match.
Poor tracking back from midfield to allow Foden to score, poor defending to allow Doku to get passed them for the assist, Doku again being allowed to turn and play the pass to Haaland for the second, Bayindir not coming out quick enough and making himself big for that goal (look at Donnarumma for Sesko's chance), and then the third was just pathetic all round.
This is perhaps the hardest thing to take given how simple it is to overcome United. Oppositions just have to wait as eventually, we'll cock up. Heads drop when things don't go our way, we lose composure and concentration and in the end, we get nothing.
4. Maguire Substitution
You know, this is becoming as frustrating as starting Bruno in midfield.
Amorim seems to have this habit of bringing on the former skipper when times get desperate. This is an understandable substitution when you are in injury time and are in need of a goal. But when you're 2-0 down with half an hour left, this isn't the change you want to see.
He also took off Yoro for Maguire. Why take the Frenchman off? There didn't seem to be any issues with him. That was a straight up defensive change which actually made us weaker.
If anything, he needed to take Shaw off instead. He was the worst of the three and this would've allowed us to keep our quickest defender on the field. With them being 2 goals up, City were probably going to go more on the defensive and look to counter with the pace of Haaland. Why would you then take off your quickest defender for your slowest?
Pep was waiting for something like this and it worked out in his favour. That third goal killed any hopes of us getting back into it thanks to a weird substitution.
What a change like that does is it also tells the team that the manager isn't really going for this game, that he isn't trying to get back into it. The heads were already down so to then make a straight swap in defense, would've dropped their heads even further.
These are decisions where you can't blame anyone but the manager.
5. One Positive (sort of)
I know we were 3-0 down and the game was up, but when Amorim decided to bring Mainoo on and put him next to Ugarte and then Casemiro, we look a lot more balanced in midfield. Mainoo showed exactly why he should be playing with his trademark driving runs.
Bruno was then moved to no 10 and he couldn't cost us in terms of not tracking runners and being all over the place due to being higher up the field. It also meant more creativity in attack, which was needed.
Amad was then moved to RWB when Mazraoui was substituted. He was struggling at no 10 and needed to come off or move elsewhere. With him out wide and City not looking to attack, Amad could be more on the offensive and we got to see his best attributes.
In these situations we saw players who were more comfortable in those positions. It may have been a glimpse and at a time when the game was over, but we saw how good the side can be. Square pegs in square holes.
We ended off the match with a good few chances which on another day, may have gone in and brought us back in the game.
I hope that Amorim sees that and implements it in the next few matches which as we know, seem to be make or break for him.
However, knowing the Portuguese, he probably won't change anything and we'll all be back here saying the same things.
Ruben Amorim looks on as his Man Utd side lose 3-0 to Man City | Creator: Carl Recine | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Man Utd News