Manchester City moved 11 points clear of United after a 2-1 win at Old Trafford late on Sunday and the fans of the Red Devils were far from pleased with their team’s display. Pep Guardiola walked away with the plaudits for his side’s thrilling attacking display and not for the first time this season, Jose Mourinho’s tactics came drew plenty of flak.
Striker Romelu Lukaku’s barren run also caught the ire of many fans. The Belgian’s big game record was also brought into question. Though a 11-point gap is not realistically insurmountable, many a folk conceded that the title race is over. City now have a record-equalling 14 Premier League wins on the trot and are on track to seal the title on a canter. Here is how the Twitter world reacted.
Have to admire City
Manchester City in the Premier League so far 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZrmIidRwQv
— The LAD Football (@TheLADFootball) December 10, 2017
The thing you have to admire about this City team isn’t just the football they play but the concentration they’ve shown in every game. The mentality is what every top coach wishes they could have. #MUNMCI
— JustFootball (@Rumors72192233) December 11, 2017
Where was Lukaku?
As mentioned earlier, Lukaku’s recent form has not gone down well with United fans. The 24-year-old came for some stinging criticism:
Romelu Lukaku spelled backwards is ukakul ulemor which makes no sense just like the £75M Manchester United spent on him.#ManchesterDerby
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) December 10, 2017
Lukaku with two assists now. Both for City.
— Jonas Giæver (@CheGiaevara) December 10, 2017
Lukaku, in the 1st half, was more isolated than Matt Damon on Mars 😂😅
— Rohan Iyer (@Ryer15) December 10, 2017
Cmooon Unaaaaited 🔴🔴🔴#mufc #UnitedvsCity
So the title is gone. Is this the beginning of the Man City Dominance? Can Mourinho actually stop Pep? #ManUtdvsManCity #DerbyDay #MUNMCI
— kabir chaturvedi (@kabirchaturved2) December 11, 2017
Pathetic defending today @ManUtd. Cannot seem to go beyond the half line without @paulpogba. @AnderHerrera didn’t step up. Wud love to know how are we going to crawl back up 11 points! #UnitedvsCity #ManchesterDerby
— Mohit Oza (@mohit_oza) December 10, 2017
Can't control the ball. Can't finish. Can't make clearance. Assists the opposition.
— Ant (@AntPrimal) December 10, 2017
WHY IS HE WEARING #9? #UnitedvsCity https://t.co/CZNuy92Syi
No Pogba, no party
David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, as they have done for much of the season, controlled the midfield. United, on the other hand, badly missed their talisman Paul Pogba, who was suspended for the clash. There was frustration in the manner in which the United backline shipped in two sloppy goals.
About the #Derby, City had more intent whereas our strength(defense) let us down.
— Parin (@im_Parin) December 11, 2017
Pogba was missed badly.
Lukaku was found wanting again.
Jose needs to be a bit more positive especially at home.
Title race almost over. #MUFC #ManchesterDerby
Can't control the ball. Can't finish. Can't make clearance. Assists the opposition.
— Ant (@AntPrimal) December 10, 2017
WHY IS HE WEARING #9? #UnitedvsCity https://t.co/CZNuy92Syi
No Pogba, No Party! We need another player like him to step up and make the difference 💕😣 #MUFC #MUNMCI #ManchesterDerby pic.twitter.com/545fahFrzD
— Subodh Kadam (@_ManUtd_fc_) December 11, 2017
A closer look at Lukaku's performance today #MUNMCI #ManchesterDerby #DerbyDay pic.twitter.com/LCqZP2ktyt
— #TheCounterAttack (@OnTheCounterSay) December 10, 2017
Title is over before xmas . No one is catching City this season . Just too good #UnitedvsCity
— Ferdy 🔴⚪️ (@Ina_Ferdy04) December 10, 2017
Enough is enough, Jose!
Mourinho’s tactics in the big games, not surprisingly, were torn to shreds:
Mourinho just cannot follow this gameplan of parking the bus in big games and hoping for a 1-0 after spending millions on attackers! He needs to adapt. Heck, Sir Alex adapted over 25+ yrs at OT, and he didn't spend like a kid at a chocolate store with unlimited money for success!
— Ravi Iyer (@Ravi_BarelyOL) December 11, 2017
If Manchester United had bought bitcoin with 75 million pounds this summer, they would have been able to afford Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar by the January transfer window instead of being stuck with misfiring Lukaku!
— Kingsley Eberebe (@keberebe) December 11, 2017
😂😂😂
On the plus side @ManUtd fans, at least you got to see some quality football at Old Trafford today! 😂😂😂
— Moh Haider (@ArsenalMoh8) December 10, 2017
Pep > Mourinho#ManchesterDerby
Since 1st day of the season it was obvious that Man City are better than United. The difference between the 2 teams is that Pep managed to have a working formation and tactics based on his players' capabilities. Mourinho didn't achieve that yet.
— Kuwaiti Red Devil (@q80reddevil) December 11, 2017
Some of them have not given up on Lukaku, who started the season guns blazing as United were averaging 3-4 goals a game.
We need to support Lukaku.
— Gautam Aditya (@TheSkyKisser) December 11, 2017
He's been singled out for every match he didn't score and is not confident at all. That's what happens to you when you're not confident.
We need to show that we trust in him. That's how he gets back. #MUFC #MUNMCI #ManchesterDerby
#MUNMCI Man Utd has to learn how to buy good players otherwise city will dominate for years and we shall live in history like Liverpool, Ac Milan and Olympic Lyon.
— Danzy Mbugua (@Thee_Danzy) December 11, 2017
Hard to envisage @ManCity not walking away with the Premier League title. Terrific side.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 10, 2017
A team that has dropped 2 points of the first 16 PL games , you expect them to drop another 22 in the next 22? Title sealed! #MUNMCI #PremierLeague @premierleague What a team 👏#deludedunitedfans
— Aniruddha Indurkar (@marathipudlian) December 11, 2017
And there was this. Should he have started, though?
A lion does not enter the #ManchesterDerby. The Manchester Derby enters the lion 🦁#MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/dkRIHrwv4a
— Premier League USA (@PLinUSA) December 10, 2017