Youri Tielemans\u2019 assessment of Manchester United\u2019s derby defeat to City pointed to a problem that has followed the side for some time: when they are asked to set the terms, they often fall short.<\/p>\n
Speaking to NBC Sports, Tielemans was blunt about the performance. \u201cI don\u2019t think we created enough chances to win the game anyway,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought we were a bit sloppy on the ball and maybe didn\u2019t make the right decisions on the final ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
City\u2019s victory was shaped by Erling Haaland\u2019s second-half winner, although the goal should not have stood. Pro Ref later acknowledged an “error of judgment” in relation to Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s role in the move.<\/p>\n
Tielemans also felt the match would have looked very different had that decision gone the other way. That may be true in theory, yet City responded to the setback by staying organised and keeping their cross-city rivals at a distance after Foden\u2019s dismissal.<\/p>\n
The numbers underline the issue. United produced only one big chance, according to FotMob, and managed just 0.07 xGOT from the seventh minute onwards. Once again, they struggled when expected to be the team dictating possession and attacking a settled defence.<\/p>\n
Enzo Maresca noted after the game that Foden\u2019s red card after 23 minutes changed matters for both sides, not just City. That observation fits the broader pattern around United, who have long found life easier when they can play without the ball and use space in transition.<\/p>\n
They beat City 2-0 on Carrick\u2019s Old Trafford return in January with only 32% possession, but that match was transformed by the numerical advantage. Since the start of last season, United have won all 10 games in which they had 45% or less possession, but only seven of the 20 in which they had at least 55%.<\/p>\n
The absence of a focal point until Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko came on certainly did not help, but the deeper problem is wider than one selection issue. United\u2019s difficulties in controlling games have been present for years, and this derby offered another reminder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tielemans\u2019 comments highlighted United\u2019s recurring trouble when they must control games and create.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,179],"tags":[1162,180],"class_list":["post-19415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-city","category-manchester-united","tag-analytics","tag-player-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}