Manchester United fell to a dismal 0-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the 199th iteration of the Manchester derby on Sunday.
What made the loss worse was the fact that the noisy neighbours played over 75 minutes with 10 men after Phil Foden’s straight red card in the 23rd minute.
VAR’s decision to allow Erling Haaland’s goal to stand was one of the worst decisions in recent history, but that does not absolve the hosts of all the blame.
Michael Carrick got all his tactical and substitution calls wrong, with Matheus Cunha struggling all game but still playing the full 90 minutes.
Youri Tielemans blamed United for the loss
The 20-time English league champions should have played with greater urgency and more bravery on the ball after the red card.
Instead, they looked slow and ponderous and the approach did not change in the second half as well.
In fact, after the controversial winner, the United players let their heads drop and they looked even poorer during the closing stages of the contest.
Summer signing Youri Tielemans refused to be drawn on VAR’s decision and instead claimed that the home side did not deserve to win as they were poor.
United are lacking consistency
“We shouldn’t have conceded the goal. I don’t think we created enough chances today to win the game. We were sloppy on the ball and lost too many balls and didn’t make the right decisions in the final third.
“Other than the goal they scored, I don’t think they had many chances. It is what it is and we lost the game.”
Like last season, United are struggling to find any real consistency and have not won back-to-back games so far.
This needs to change quickly or the pressure on Carrick’s shoulders will get unbearable real fast.
United need to win vs Brighton
“We need a calm response but we have got to react anyway. We haven’t won two games in a row yet and we need some momentum and consistency in our team and our results. That is what is going to make us move forward,” the Belgian midfielder added.
Up next for United is a home tie against Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup in midweek. A defeat there and alarm bells could start ringing all across the Theatre of Dreams.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
