By Tendai Makaripe
David Moyes’ got yet another chance to prove himself to the Manchester United faithful at the Ethihad stadium yesterday but his charges put up a tremendously poor performance that left many wondering whether he is the right man for United.
Moyes watched his side succumb to a brilliant Manchester City performance, losing 4-1 in the Manchester derby and sit eighth in the table after five matches.
The parallels with the 6-1 defeat to City at Old Trafford in 2011-12 are inescapable, the echoes of a day Ferguson described as his “worst ever” in his 26 years in charge of the club.
“On that occasion, City scored three goals in the dying minutes to humiliate their rivals; this time United were hung, drawn and quartered within five minutes of the second-half. If anything, it was even worse, so total was City’s dominance from the first whistle,” one British reporter wrote.
The Scot has miserably failed in his trio of early season acid tests. He has managed a single point from three matches against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City and a consolation free kick from Wayne Rooney.
His defensive play was pathetic considering that United does not have the best defensive players in the league. This blunder proved all too costly as City ripped United apart in every department.
City were too strong for United technically, mentally, tactically and physically and blew them away with four goals in the first 50 minutes to put the game beyond reach. It was City’s best big-match performance in well over a year.
Aguero’s finishing was superb; Yaya Toure dominated the midfield and deserved his goal, while Samir Nasri, scorer of the fourth, played himself to a standstill.
Just like any embarrassed manager would do, Moyes looked for an excuse. The Scot pointed to the fixture list as a major reason behind United’s worst start to a campaign since the 2004-05 season.
“I think any manager would have found it difficult taking over the club with that run of fixtures. If those games were later in the season I might have had a better understanding.”
“Our start could be a lot better but we did say it was a difficult start and I said at the time, I wasn’t convinced at the way the balls came out of the Premier League bag and I’m still not.” said Moyes.
His opposite number, by contrast, seemed to have got everything right.
Manuel Pellegrini’s selection and tactics were taken from the top drawer and subsequently yielded results.
Pellegrini threw Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo into the fray in a game in which both teams opted to field two strikers, making it something of a throwback.
The difference was that City dominated possession and made deadly use of it with Yaya Toure impressive in the middle of the park.
“It was a very important result. Normally you don’t expect to win 4-1 to Manchester United but the most important thing is the way we played and I’m very happy,” he told reporters.
“Normally, derbies are more equal but today we had a very good day and that allowed us to have the superiority.
“Maybe United couldn’t play better because we played very well. We had good possession, we tried from the beginning to make space and we did it,” he added.
Manchester City sit third in the Premier League after Sunday’s win, two points behind north London duo Arsenal and Tottenham.
It remains to be seen if Moyes’ hair dryer treatment is as effective as that of his predecessor. Will United pick themselves up and rise again like true champions?
Only time will tell. – News Of The South
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