Manchester City claimed bragging rights on derby day but the state of the two squads shows why it's an uphill challenge for Man Utd to catch them.
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick had little to turn to on his bench against Manchester City
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Michael Carrick isn't quite taking a knife to a gunfight, but the challenge facing Manchester United in an era when their owners are determined to cut their cloth was laid bare on derby day at Old Trafford.
Ineos are revamping United's squad in stages, but a cautious approach to the transfer market means they are relying on overachievement in the dugout to reach their aim of winning the league title by the end of next season.
United spent just £155million on first-team players this season, leaving Carrick's squad underpowered in some key areas. The reluctance to sign a left-back after their timid approach to trying to land Lewis Hall has become an issue by mid-September, while there are questions about the depth in attacking areas.
At a time when their rivals are splashing the cash, United are becoming more spendthrift under Ineos. Part of that is an overcorrection from an era when they spent badly before Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival, and part of it is a desire to make the club a more sustainable entity.
United's hands are also tied by a repeated failure to consistently qualify for the Champions League, a concern that is again threatening to surface just four weeks into the new season. But if Tottenham can sign three players for more than £85million after back-to-back 17th-place finishes, it's hard to see why United can't be more aggressive themselves.
Instead, they are hoping their beefed-up data department can make them the cleverest club in the Premier League, while asking Michael Carrick to unlock potential in players such as Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.
That contrast with City was brought into sharp focus on Sunday. Enzo Maresca started two midfielders signed for £116million and £125million, and left an £85million midfielder on the bench. His game-changing attacking substitute was £65million Iliman Ndiaye.
Even in the absence of the injured Jeremy Doku, City had £34million winger Allan waiting in the wings ready to come on and make a difference.
For Carrick, the options weren't as grand. He could at least turn to £73million striker Benjamin Sesko, waiting too long to do so, but after that had little in the way of replacements that would worry City.
Shea Lacey remains young and inexperienced, while throwing Joshua Zirkzee on for the final seven minutes summed up the issues in United's squad. Zirkzee should have left OId Trafford this summer and his £36million move from Bologna three years ago was a mistake in the first place.
United were attracted to the forward because he had a release clause and he was Dutch, and therefore known to Erik ten Hag and his camp. He has never looked like a Manchester United player and it's no surprise they have struggled to find a buyer. The surprise is that he is still called on for games of this magnitude.
Ineos haven't shied away from ambition since their investment in United. Omar Berrada, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's chosen chief executive, is willing to put on record the target of winning the league title by 2028.
But in the modern era, achieving that without a huge investment in the playing squad is exceptionally difficult. They are relying on Carrick to turn Patrick Dorgu into an elite-level left-back, having failed to give him any other options, and to find a way to turn Zirkzee into the kind of striker that can unsettle Manchester City.
If Carrick is unhappy with the squad he has been given after the window, he will never go public with his complaints. His rival on Sunday has nothing to go public about. Maresca has been backed to the hilt in his first summer at the Etihad and at the moment he is delivering with the tools at his disposal.
Once again, disrupting the hegemony of Arsenal and Manchester City already looks beyond United, which is probably no great surprise after their summer.