What hope have Manchester United got? They’re a team in a death spiral

On paper, United’s 3-1 defeat to Man City was not a terrible result, writes Pete Hall, but scratch below the surface and the worrying decline under Erik ten Hag shows no signs of stopping

Manchester United suffered a painful defeat to bitter rivals Man City (Getty)

As Erling Haaland blazed over from two yards out late in the first half of the Manchester derby, an opportunity with an xG (the metric used to express the likelihood of a goal being scored) of 0.89 – essentially unmissable – Pep Guardiola had finally lost his mind.

He is always on the precipice, but Haaland’s inexplicable profligacy tipped him over the edge. The fourth official took the brunt of the madcap Spaniard’s ire, as he got right in the face of the assistant referee. Thankfully, the official saw the funny side, even if only as a tactic to escape the Manchester City boss’s attention.

Yet there was no need for Guardiola to panic, no need to lose his composure. Not against this Manchester United.