First things first,
This was the wrong game to be giving players their first start. THE WRONG GAME! Jesse coming back from injury and Mikki still getting to grips with the new league.
Secondly,
Tight midfield. In Fergie's era, when faced with smarter and faster players, he would pack the midfield, adopting an almost 4-5-1 formation. We had the perfect players to choke the midfield in Herrera and Schneiderlin and even if you must, send in Carrick to sit in front of the back if you must just congest that midfield because the way Silva and Sterlin were able to move around unmolested was a massive cause for concern.
Finally,
The positive, Mou recognised his mistake almost instantly and made the appropriate changes. We went out swinging in the second half, but I hope now Mou took more from the game than Pep, he will now understand how certain players perform under the heat against smarter, faster opponents. The ugly, ugly fact remains, with Rooney being undroppable we will always be at a handicap for the no 10 role at the top level. We needed Rooney to do for us what Silva was doing for City, and it was not happening today and probably will not for the rest of the season.