Man United haven’t challenged City, but a derby is different،
Pep Guardiola generally tried to remain respectful when speaking about his neighbors Manchester United when he was Manchester City manager, but earlier this season the mask only slipped a fraction.
Asked about possible rivals for the Premier League title this season, he cited Arsenal then Liverpool before being interrupted by a journalist who said: Manchester United? The smirk that appeared on Guardiola’s face at this suggestion gave the game away. The uncomfortable truth for United is that Guardiola’s reaction is justified.
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During his seven full seasons at the Etihad Stadium, he won five titles and eight other major trophies. Last season alone he won the same number (three) that United have managed in total since arriving in England in 2016. Guardiola has faced challenges from Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, but they have rarely come from United .
Speaking at his first City press conference more than seven years ago, Guardiola told his supporters to “fasten their seat belts”, but it was then hard to imagine how far they ran in front of their rivals.
Erik ten Hag is the latest United manager tasked with making up ground, but ahead of the first Manchester derby of the season at Old Trafford on Sunday, the gap between the two sides appears bigger than ever.
At a press conference on Friday, Guardiola was asked about United as possible title contenders and, as usual, he tried to be gracious. “It’s too early,” he said. “All the time when you receive the lights [in June], United is a competitor. When you only play nine games a lot can happen in my experience. We trailed by a few points in February and March and were able to win in the end. Ask me a question with nine games remaining. Teams a little late 1698510264 maybe there.”
But if the bookmakers are to be believed, United aren’t even close. City are favorites to win a fourth consecutive title this season, while United, who have lost four of their opening nine games, are seventh in the betting behind Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle and Aston Villa.
As he prepares for Sunday’s derby, the good news for Ten Hag is that United have a respectable record against Guardiola, winning seven of 19 meetings in all competitions, but the head-to-head record doesn’t tell the story. history of City’s global dominance. .
Since Guardiola’s arrival, United have never finished ahead of City in the Premier League and have twice finished (in 2018-19 and 2021-22) more than 30 points behind. In the seven years since 2016, United have finished on average 20 points behind their neighbors domestically, while in Europe they have won one Champions League knockout tie (against Paris Saint-Germain in 2019) against 12 for City.
City have reached at least the Champions League semi-finals in each of the last three seasons. United, meanwhile, have not progressed past the quarter-finals in over a decade. During his ‘Fasten your seat belts’ press conference on his first day as City manager, Guardiola was asked three times about how difficult it is to have a giant football club just a few miles away, but, what he likes to admit it or not, he has Since then, I’ve barely had to think about United.
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A year after taking office, Ten Hag believes they are starting to close the gap. They beat City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Barcelona last season, but the problem, according to the Dutch coach, is finding the consistency that Guardiola has managed to cultivate.
“Right now we are six points behind, so we have to catch up,” Ten Hag said on Friday. “We are in the right direction and we still have a way to go.” The worry for United fans is that their club has rarely managed to achieve success off the field, so they are unlikely to pursue it.
City have encountered their own problems and are still battling more than 100 charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, but player recruitment over the past decade has been largely successful while United’s transfer policy often bordered on chaos. United’s net spending on transfers since 2014 is $1.48 billion, while City’s is $916 million. It’s not that City spent more money, it’s just that they did it better.
As United showed with a 2-1 win in January, all that goes out the window in a derby and despite a poor start to the season, Ten Hag will feel a City side who have lost three of their six last matches and who has not succeeded He has not kept a clean sheet for more than a month and has vulnerabilities which he can exploit.
The biggest success, however, would be to close the gap for more than just a one-off game and finally wipe the smile off Guardiola’s face.
