I thought we set up how you'd expect us to and I didn't really have any major issue with the team apart from finding it strange Lingard was put straight back in.
Some of the players really let us down though.
Mikhatryan was unacceptable...I don't care what excuses there are, you can't just remove yourself mentally and physically from the game like that. It's what Arsenal players do. Go and play for Arsenal if you want to be a pussy cat.
Lingard was really poor. I was more confused why he was in the team at half time than I was before the game. Even if he was fully up to speed he'd surely not be ideal in this fixture? I mean what was he meant to be doing exactly?
Blind...both goals were his fault, which is nothing new in big/important games. Hesitate to say he cost us the game because to be honest, replacing him with Smalling or even some kind of robot Vidic, wouldn't have changed the fact we got played off the park. City didn't really need help he just gave it to them anyway.
Even after all that though, it was the second hallf that was really a disappointment for me. I mean, the first half. Fair enough, we got caught off guard. We found out some things the hard way (one or two of which we've already found out countless times before but hey ho) and we were just second best basically. It can happen, especially early in a season and with new players/coaching staff.
Despite that though, City somehow contrived to let us back in the game and even did their best to not even be winning at half time. Their goalkeeper actually made me glad Joe Hart has left. They gave us a second chance basically...and then we got ourselves a foothold in the game in the second half too, with the changes we made. I wouldn't say we were the better team, but we were in the game, and only a goal down, so we had a chance.
...and then what did we do in the last 20 minutes...deliberately took orselves back OUT of the game, and gave the ball back to City repeatedly by hoofing it in the general direction of Fellaini. Yes becuase that was a fecking GREAT tactic all last season wasn't it? It NEVER works. WHY DID WE DO THIS??? There was room to play the ball up the pitch by this point. We weren't being forced to hoof it, we were choosing to. Fecking ridiculous.
There were plus points though. Bailly was good again. Rooney looked better. Rashford. Pogba just looks like a United player already....but we NEED to stop making the same fundamental mistakes over and over. Until we do we're always going to be a limited team.