Manchester United and Manchester City players came under fire for their amiable hugs and handshakes after playing out an entirely forgettable 0-0 Premier League derby draw at Old Trafford on Sunday.

In a match between teams limping through disappointing seasons, City failed to leapfrog Chelsea in their bid for Champions League qualification and remained fifth in the table while United languished in 13th place.

Pundits said the friendly post-game scenes were an indication of a lack of passion.

“I think the congratulations and love-in that I’m watching says both teams are happy with a 0-0,” former United captain Gary Neville said on Sky Sports. “The best Man City and Man United teams would be very disappointed with the way they’ve approached the end of that game.

“It looks like it’s Sunday afternoon and they’re going to go for a roast dinner together now.”

Former United midfielder Roy Keane agreed.

“They get interviewed after as if a draw isn’t too bad,” Keane said. “A draw doesn’t get you anywhere fast. This is not enough, this isn’t good enough.”

United manager Ruben Amorim shrugged off the comments with a smile.

“I understand that Gary Neville is critical about everything,” he said. “And then I understand that in the moment we are doing the worst (United) season in history. Manchester City who won everything in the past this season are struggling. So we are not in the best moments to give the best spectacle to every fan.

“And then when we are not fighting for the big things, of course, it’s different. You have to look at the context of the game, and I understand the critical aspect of the players that played in this game in a different way (such as Neville and Keane), because they were fighting every time for the titles, so it’s a different context.”

The mood was not entirely convivial, however, with

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola unhappy about the boorish chants by United fans aimed at his midfielder Phil Foden.

“A lack of class, but it is not United, it is the people,” Guardiola said. “We are so exposed, people who are now on the screen in world football – managers, owners and football players, especially.

“And, honestly, I don’t understand the mind of people involving the name of Phil’s mum in that. So it’s a lack of integrity, a lack of class and they should be ashamed. But it is what it is, so it’s happening everywhere, I would say, not just in UK.”

Guardiola said he was not concerned about Champions League qualification.

“Eight games. Crystal Palace (their next game on Saturday). We go for it,” he said. “I’d prefer to have 10 more points or 12 more points. In the previous season, there were five, six or seven games left, we were already fine, but it’s what it is.”

-Reuters

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 Manchester United can claim a league double over Manchester City for the first time in five years and Ruben Amorim needs that victory more than ever in a season where the club are headed for their worst finish in Premier League history.

United have only two wins from their last seven games but form is rarely a factor in the Manchester derby and Amorim can take heart from the fact that his side snatched an unlikely victory the last time the two sides met.

But while City, who corrected their course after plummeting down the table, look primed to qualify for the Champions League and potentially win the FA Cup, United have lost their way to cast a pall of gloom over the home of the 20-times champions.

A 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday left United 13th in the table after 13 defeats. A loss to Pep Guardiola’s City side would see the Old Trafford club equal their forgettable 2023-24 record of 14 defeats in a Premier League season.

With forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund misfiring, a desperate Amorim threw defender Harry Maguire into the attack in the forlorn hope that a big man could strike against Forest.

The pressure has been mounting on the Portuguese manager who has admitted he does not have time to turn things around.

“We know that this season is going to be like that – win momentum, lose momentum. We continue going into the next match,” Amorim said.

But one big man he will not have to worry about is City striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian netted twice on his last visit to Old Trafford but an ankle injury will keep him out until the end of the season.

That would come as a huge relief to any defender but United will still be on high alert with City’s January recruit Omar Marmoush on a hot streak having netted in his last three games.

“He has a good sense, good numbers for the short time he’s been with us. Dynamic, good pressing, really pleased for him,” Guardiola said after the Egypt international scored on Wednesday in City’s 2-0 win over Leicester City.

GABRIEL SIDELINED

Arsenal travel to Everton in the early game on Saturday without defender Gabriel, the third of Mikel Arteta’s players to have been sidelined with a season-ending injury.

The Gunners are 12 points behind Liverpool and running out of games to catch Arne Slot’s team, who need 13 points from their last eight games to seal the title.

“With eight games to go, every game is a challenge – starting with Fulham, who are having a very good season as well,” Slot said.

“We are not working on theories about how many points (are needed). We are taking the challenge of Fulham.”

Seventh-placed Aston Villa, who are three points off the top four, host Forest in third, with boss Unai Emery trying to balance domestic ambitions with their Champions League quarter-final against his former club Paris St Germain next week.

At the other end of the table, Tottenham Hotspur host bottom side Southampton, who are trying to avoid finishing the season as the worst team in Premier League history.

With 10 points from 30 games, a draw would bring Saints level with the 2007-08 Derby County side that finished the campaign with a paltry 11 points.

-Reuters

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When Manchester City signed Kevin De Bruyne for a record fee in 2015, the sceptics wondered if the Belgian who flopped at Chelsea was worth the money, but after a decade of remarkable service he will leave the club as a Premier League great.

Few have had the ability to alter the course of a game like De Bruyne did in his prime as he became the central cog in City’s all-conquering side.

But after injuries limited his appearances in the last two campaigns, the 33-year-old De Bruyne has decided to leave the club at the end of the season, with his legacy as one of the league’s best ever creative playmakers set in stone.

“Football led me to all of you and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life,” De Bruyne said.

“This city, this club, these people gave me everything. I had no choice but to give everything back! And guess what – we won everything.”

When the sun sets on his City career, De Bruyne will leave the club second on the list for most Premier League assists (currently on 118) – behind only Ryan Giggs, who needed 22 years to amass 162.

De Bruyne also equalled Thierry Henry’s record of 20 assists in a season in the 2019-20 campaign while no player has created more chances than the Belgian since his City debut in 2015.

He has been involved in 280 goals for City in all competitions, which include 174 assists.

His glittering decade-long City career will finish with six Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups with potentially a third next month and a Champions League crown the club strived so hard to win after several failures.

The construction of another statue outside the Etihad Stadium to mark his achievements seems almost inevitable.

“I would bet a lot of money that it (building a statue to honour De Bruyne) is going to happen,” City manager Pep Guardiola said.

“There’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest, for sure.”

‘THE 60 MILLION REJECT’

None of this was foreseen, however, when he made his return to England, with one unforgiving newspaper taking great pains to paint him as “The 60 million pound reject”.

Following an ill-fated spell at Chelsea where he was rarely used by Jose Mourinho and sent out on loan twice, De Bruyne left England and made a name for himself at VfL Wolfsburg.

He dazzled in Germany with 20 goals and 37 assists in 73 games for Wolfsburg before City decided to splurge on the then 24-year-old.

A fee in the region of 50 million pounds ($65.08 million) was spent to make him City’s most expensive signing and the first thing he said was that he wanted to “reach the highest level possible as a player” at City, which he certainly did.

Only a handful of players have the ability to see two moves ahead and make a pass with incredible and devastating precision.

Be it threading the needle or finding a teammate with a teasing cross into the box, De Bruyne’s passes were consistently highlight reel material.

Even when he was not assisting his teammates, defenders were wary of his ability to drive through midfield as well as his eye for goal and unerring knack of finding the top corner.

When Guardiola took over at City in 2016, he knew the squad he inherited needed major surgery.

But after a decade of players coming and going at the club, De Bruyne has remained a constant in an era when City made winning a habit.

“His assists, his goals, his vision in the final third is so difficult to replace. Everyone can make actions but over how many years and games is what makes him unique,” Guardiola said.

“His performance during this decade has been outstanding. We’ve won a lot of trophies and he’s been involved in every single one.

-Reuters

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