Manchester City Derby

MANCHESTER, SUNDAY — In the latest edition of the Manchester derby, it was hard to find a team that was worse in terms of performance. Manchester City and Manchester United have fallen far short of their respective standards. Instead of wanting to see their neighbors slump when they meet in the derby, they are only focused on dressing up so that they can immediately rise.

It is hard to find a bigger team worse than Manchester United (MU) this season. The "Red Devils" are ranked 13th in the Premier League, elbowing each other with other mediocre teams. City is still in the top five, but the achievements of the team coached by coach Josep Guardiola are not much better.

City's fall is more surprising than United's, by the standards of every club in recent seasons. City have been the reigning league champions for four seasons in a row. Sadly, they are now struggling just to get a ticket to next season's Champions League.

The prestige stakes that usually fuel derbies are no longer relevant in the latest duel between the two teams at Old Trafford Stadium, on Sunday at 22:30 WIB. Guardiola seemed to confirm this in his pre-match press conference. He was more interested in discussing the departure of his protégé, Kevin De Bruyne, at the end of the season.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola only gave a normative answer in 14 seconds regarding one of the hottest matches in England. "Good. We played well in the last two matches, hopefully it continues until the end of the season. The players are focused on resting (after last Thursday's match) and we will prepare for the next match," he said.

There is no additional spice, such as psychological warfare, to heat up the derby. Unlike in the first duel, last December. City had just been defeated 1-4 by Portuguese team Sporting CP led by coach Ruben Amorim before moving to MU. Many believe, Amorim is kryptonite for Guardiola.

Guardiola, ahead of the derby at that time, seemed to be playing a psychological warfare strategy. His statement was far from the context of match preparation. He had blamed the schedule as the source of the team's problems at the beginning of the season. The schedule resulted in injuries that led to a bad performance trend, including the cause of the defeat to Sporting.

Amorim had not even been a month in charge of MU during the first derby. He was still filled with high self-confidence. The figure of the young coach who successfully raised Sporting's achievements seemed to have no doubts in him. That attitude was very different compared to now, after four months had passed.

Amorim actually felt a little inferior despite winning the first derby 2-1. "We have bigger problems than City. They were in that moment (not good), but they have developed. They probably have the best coach in the world and also great players. I just want to focus on our problems," he said about the trend of the neighboring team.

We have to focus. We are doing everything we can to be better next season. We have to fix it right away, we can't wait four years. Because this is a big club.

MU no longer has a big goal in the league. They just want to find the best composition and momentum to bring to the Europa League. Only in the Europa League, the only chance for Bruno Fernandes and his colleagues to win a trophy this season. The derby later is actually just a stepping stone to another tournament.

Amorim hopes MU can end the season strong, better if they can win a trophy. "We have to focus. We do everything to be better next season. We have to fix it immediately, we can't wait for four years. Because, this is a big club," he concluded.

The "Red Devils" must build a trend from scratch again. Having been unbeaten in four consecutive matches, they were defeated by Nottingham Forest 0-1 last Wednesday. Even so, there was a positive note from the defeat. MU was able to dominate the match, only lacking clinicality in the opponent's penalty box.

On the other hand, City are starting to build momentum with two straight wins. Their defense is starting to improve, less fragile when facing transitions. The problem is, Guardiola will be without star striker Erling Haaland who is sidelined with a thigh injury. That hole must be patched immediately.

City have been heavily reliant on Haaland for the past three seasons. This season alone, the Norwegian international has scored 21 Premier League goals. No other City player has scored more than seven goals. Haaland could be out for the rest of the season.

Guardiola needs to find a new formula. Because, City will still compete for the top five leagues and the FA Cup trophy. The choice is to play attacking midfielder Oscar Marmoush or Phil Foden in that position. That composition was tried when City won 2-0 over Leicester in the middle of the week.

There is little fuel to ignite a derby explosion. One possible trigger is the news of De Bruyne's departure. The midfielder has just announced that he will part ways with City at the end of the season. The visit to Old Trafford will be De Bruyne's last derby. (AP/REUTERS)