City touch perfection as United offer same old tired excuses

In the final 15 minutes of Manchester United’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, the hosts had 92 percent possession.

It came in a second half of such dominance that Pep Guardiola said of his Premier League leaders: “If it is not our best, I don’t know what we have to do.”

While City, who retained their six-point advantage over Liverpool, offered perfection, United were pitiful as they demonstrated once more how far they have fallen from their previous status as kings of English football.

In the tradition of protesting Real Madrid supporters, it would have been no surprise to see white handkerchiefs raised aloft by their angry followers at the end of this embarrassment at the Etihad.

They were disgusted and disturbed by what they had witnessed — and sadly often have felt these emotions since their last Premier League title win in 2013 and Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

United used to have a banner at Old Trafford taunting the number of years their neighbors had failed to win a trophy.

It ended at 35 when City won the FA Cup in 2011 — and a year later they were league champions when Sergio Aguero’s injury-time winner over QPR pipped Ferguson’s side on a dramatic final day.

That marked a momentous shift in fortunes as City have since lifted four league titles to that one of United — and the Red Devils’ empire has crumbled as their Abu Dhabi-owned rivals have created a dynasty.

Now United are being mocked on and off the field.

As City fans proudly display their own banner — “Sheikh Mansour Manchester Thanks You for 10 Great Years” — it has highlighted a decade of dominance to contrast United’s decline.

“We will, one day, get this club back to where it deserves to be,” wrote keeper David De Gea on Twitter after the