MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Josep 'Pep' Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, issues instructions to Kyle Walker of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 15: Josep 'Pep' Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, issues instructions to Kyle Walker of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Amad Diallo caught Matheus Nunes unawares for Manchester United's first. He caught the Manchester City defence cold to complete another collapse. And at full-time he caught Pep Guardiola in a daze when he offered a post-match handshake.
Pep Guardiola took his cardigan off as he walked back to the dressing room having seen his players find another, more destructive, way to throw away another position of strength.
The bad run has turned into an existential crisis. Kyle Walker, walking back after Amad's winner, was caught on camera asking 'What the f---, man?'.
Quite.
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The very same sentiment will be going through Guardiola's mind ahead of a much-needed week on the training pitch, the first since September without a midweek fixture. To put it more politely than Walker, how on earth does he turn this around?
The man with all the answers seems completely out of ideas.
One mistake followed another to throw it away against Juventus in the week, and the same happened against Feyenoord a week earlier. Crystal Palace worked hard but were hardly at their best to take a point at Selhurst Park last week.
That must be the most annoying thing for Guardiola, they are not even losing to brilliant teams. Liverpool and Arsenal both drew this week to remind City that this is a title race truly for the taking. Yet City can't fight their way out of their own minds at present.
Guardiola spent the first half of the week insisting that City don't have a mentality problem, even after the Juventus collapse and Ilkay Gundogan admitting that they do.
He can't ignore that reality now - Phil Foden was the latest to acknowledge a 'mental thing' in the dressing room.
Walker might have asked his same foul-mouthed question in the first half, when he decided to throw himself to the ground as Rasmus Hojlund squared up to him.
Having fouled the young Dane, Hojlund raced to square up to Walker and the pair butted heads. Walker, anticipating a forward movement fell backwards and clutched his face, but Hojlund had stood his ground.
Roy Keane would call it 'embarassing' in the Sky Sports studio, and United players raced to confront Walker to a man. Hojlund was booked for his reaction, Walker deservedly for simulation.
It was a moment of madness from a player badly out of form and replays won't cover him in glory for either United goal. Just like they didn't for Juventus' goals, or Palace's. City have still won just two games when he has started this season.
The game had started with Gary Neville calling this a 'donkey derby' such was the desperate form of both sides. City gifted United a way back into form and condemned themselves to another week of introspection.
They are fifth, now, with Nottingham Forest above them.
What the f---, indeed.