In the final minutes, as Manchester United trailed 2-0 in a fast emptying Old Trafford the Manchester City fans couldn’t resist the urge to gloat.
“You’re getting sacked in the morning” they gleefully chanted to the United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he stood on the sidelines and watched his tired and defeated players chase in vain after a strutting City side.
Of course Solskjaer is in no danger of losing his job, but the fact that this can be directed at him less than a month after he was appointed demonstrates the serious slump United now find themselves in.
United's defeat to City on Wednesday night was their seventh from their last nine games, the first time they have endured a run as bad as this since 1962.
Since Solskjaer’s permanent appointment on March 28th, he has presided over a record of five defeats from seven games.
Even in his two victories against Watford and West Ham, United were poor, and so the Norwegian is still waiting for his first convincing performance.
It has now been four hours and 40 minutes since United scored a goal, and eight hours and 47 minutes since they last scored from open play.
It was the presence on the bench of Romelu Lukaku, the club’s second most expensive signing ever, and Alexis Sanchez, the highest paid player in the club’s history, which shows how much this squad is unbalanced and underperforming in attack.
When this supposedly illustrious pair came on in the second half they both looked off the pace and made no impression at all.
But United’s malaise is not confined to their impotent band of strikers, and has engulfed their defenders and goalkeeper as well.
When Leroy Sane scored City’s second in this game it was the 50th league goal United have conceded this season, the most ever in the 27-year history of the Premier League, and the most in a league season since 1978-79.
United are suffering from their failure to augment their defence with a new centre-half last summer, with any partnership formed between Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly just not being good enough.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City and Bernardo Silva of Manchester City embrace after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on April 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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David De Gea has been United’s saviour on countless occasions in the last six seasons, but it is clear he is suffering an alarming dip in form, and should have saved Sane’s shot as it was fired straight at him.
And yet despite this dispiriting result United still have a chance of finishing in the top four and seizing a place in the Champions League next season.
The news of Arsenal’s surprise defeat to Wolves on the same night would have cushioned the blow of United’s own defeat, as it leaves them only three points from fourth position with three games still to play.
Chelsea currently occupy fourth place, and they are United’s next opponents on Sunday when they visit Old Trafford.
If United can harness the spirit of that first half and be more clinical in front of goal, they still have a chance of winning on Sunday and closing that gap.
After the unrelenting gloom of the last month, rather surprisingly United still have the chance to grasp something from a dreadfully disappointing
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