Arrogant Guardiola has harmed Manchester City; a weakened defense still relies on a lone defensive midfielder, Haaland has been invisible for 7 matches, and Man City lost 0-2.

At 20:30 on January 17th Beijing time, the 22nd round of the Premier League brought the Manchester derby, where Manchester United played at home against Manchester City.

In the first half, Maguire hit the post with a header; Amad and Bruno Fernandes scored but were both ruled offside, resulting in a 0-0 halftime score. In the second half, Donnarumma made several outstanding saves, United's Mbeumo broke the deadlock on a counterattack assisted by Bruno Fernandes, and Cunha came off the bench to assist Doku in scoring to extend the lead. Amad hit the post again, and Mount's substitute goal was disallowed for offside. Manchester City showed no tactical plan or threatening attacks.

In the end, Manchester United defeated Manchester City 2-0, ending City's 4-game winless streak. With this win, United moved up to fourth with 35 points, while City remained second with 43 points.

For Manchester United vs. Manchester City, Carrick set a 4-2-3-1 formation: Mbeumo upfront with Bruno Fernandes behind, Amad and Doku on the wings, Casemiro and Mena as double pivots, Dalot, Maguire, Lima, and Luke Shaw forming the back four, and Lamens in goal. The starting lineup value was €351 million. Guardiola deployed a 4-1-4-1 formation with Haaland leading the attack, Doku, Bernardo Silva, Foden, and Semenyo in midfield, Rodri as the lone defensive midfielder, Aké, Alain, Khusanov, and Lewis in defense, and Donnarumma in goal. Their lineup was valued at €646 million.

Throughout the match,Manchester United had only 32% possession but managed 11 shots, 7 of which were on target; Manchester City had 7 shots with just 1 on target.Have you ever seen a Manchester derby where Guardiola’s Manchester City managed only one shot on target? This match was a complete disaster for City. Without Donnarumma’s miraculous saves, it would have been a catastrophe. Why did City lose so badly? Besides United’s strong performance, it’s closely tied to Guardiola’s arrogance. With key center-backs Dias and Guehi injured, City’s weakened defense was fragile. Yet Guardiola refused to strengthen the midfield defense, relying on an out-of-form Rodri as the lone defensive midfielder, supported by Foden and Bernardo Silva who are not defensive specialists. It was like adding insult to injury — a leaking ship facing a headwind, opening the windows to let the storm in. Such a midfield was bound to be breached!

City has a target man like Haaland but refuses to cross, stubbornly playing possession football that fails to break through, still trying to force it without creating real chances. Using Haaland like this is less effective than playing without a striker and increasing movement. Moreover, Haaland is out of form; the Norwegian striker lacks the ability to hold up the ball or orchestrate attacks and has been wandering on the pitch for 7 consecutive games, scoring only one penalty in that period with consistently low ratings. Guardiola is wasting a player. It’s also proven that Lewis cannot play as a full-back, yet Guardiola insists on using him there.

In my personal view, Guardiola’s tenure at Manchester City reached a bottleneck last season, finishing empty-handed in all competitions. This season looks similarly bleak and may end without trophies again. Without changes, the heavily reinforced Blue Moon squad might be due for a managerial change.