Football writer Alex Keble analyses the 0-0 draw between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford.
A disappointing Manchester derby. The 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon pretty much summed up the respective seasons of Manchester United and Manchester City.
Fans of both clubs will have trudged home with that in mind, and frankly little else. It was an oddly unfocused Manchester derby, lacking energy and edge.
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The two teams "looked like they’re going to go for a roast dinner together now," was Gary Neville’s irritable assessment on the Sky Sports coverage.
That might be a tad harsh, especially on United, who will feel pleased to have kept City quiet, and pleased to have held steady in the derby after such a turbulent campaign.
Guardiola’s diamond 4-4-2 plays into Man Utd’s hands
On the surface, you might blame a drab 0-0 on the more conservative side: on Man Utd for sitting deeper, squeezing space in their compact 5-4-1, and waiting for counter-attacks.
But that is a method we have come to expect from United, and they will be happy to have simply stopped City from scoring.
The bigger reason this wasn’t a decent match was Man City’s low-tempo football and Pep Guardiola’s tactics.
Man City lined up in a very narrow diamond 4-4-2 formation, which meant they had too many players crowded into the congested central column and no wingers spreading the pitch.
Without wingers to attack down the open flanks (or at least yank the two shapes wider to create space in the middle), without real full-backs, and without any runs being made in behind United’s line, it created a static blob.
In this classic example, City’s front three are all far too narrow, while all three are moving towards the ball rather than making a run.
It played directly into Man Utd’s hands, because with everything funnelled down the middle, Man Utd’s congested shape could squeeze them out.
Their average position graphic below shows four players - Manuel Ugarte (LCM), Casemiro (RCM), Bruno Fernandes (RAM) and Rasmus Hojlund (FW, obscured) - practically on top of each other.
Guardiola’s surprising tactical set-up may have been to ensure his team weren’t too stretched when the ball turned over.
Perhaps he told his players to be risk-averse – stay central, don’t make too many runs, and don’t have the full-backs overlap – to make sure they didn’t risk United breaking the other way.
It worked to an extent, but it made the visitors remarkably passive in attack.
City won just 28 per cent of the duels in the first half, the lowest of any team in any Premier League fixture this season, while they ended the match with an Expected Goals (xG) of 0.49, their lowest in a Premier League match since they lost at Arsenal in October 2023.
United counters briefly threaten, but bluntness continues
Man Utd weren’t much better, taking 13 shots for a 0.92 xG, but there were moments when their counter-attacks could have worked, and again it came down to Guardiola getting his system wrong.
Matheus Nunes, playing at right-back, struggled as United broke down his side, reflecting the narrowness of City’s diamond 4-4-2 and the space therefore open to the hosts’ wingers.
And in the first half, Fernandes continually found space between the lines to launch counter-attacks because Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 meant a spare man in midfield against City’s 4-2-4.
Admittedly, this didn’t last much past the 30-minute mark, and for most of the match United lacked conviction in their counters.
They failed to score for the second match running, and since Amorim’s appointment only Leicester City (12) have drawn more Premier League blanks than United’s eight.
“We had some chances to win the game,” Amorim told Sky Sports. “We tried to use our pace in transitions, denied a little more in the low block, but we had our chances, and we had some moments.
“But if you look at the game, we can accept the draw.”
Man City and Man Utd both face a big summer
That acceptance has led to some disappointment among pundits, including Neville, who criticised the "robotic" nature of the encounter.
But Man Utd were satisfied to keep City quiet, and what’s more, the lack of quality was arguably more to do with the fact that both teams are in a period of transition.
"Everything," was Amorim’s answer when asked by Sky Sports what needs to improve.
"Everywhere. We need to improve in every aspect of the game."
Guardiola instead talked about players being slightly out of position and the "process" not being quite right. Nevertheless, it is clear that Man City, too, have a huge summer ahead.
The news of Kevin De Bruyne’s departure only adds to the sense that an era is ending.
It is Guardiola’s task to begin another.
There was no Rodri and no Erling Haaland, but the passive nature of Man City’s performance was another sign Guardiola’s ageing squad needs serious updating if the club are to challenge for the title again next season.
Some of that might come back, however, when a new season brings a fresh start and something big to fight for.
It was a "funny game," Amorim said, partly because "the feeling is not there"; the feeling that comes with striving for every point in a title hunt.
A funny game it was.
On this evidence, with Man Utd still in a tactical shape nothing like Amorim’s Sporting, and with Man City more passive than ever, fans of both clubs will be looking forward to the season ending – and a busy summer beginning.