Harry Maguire endures another nightmare as inept Man Utd torn to pieces by Man City

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It had to take a flick off Harry Maguire, of course it did.

The Riyad Mahrez strike that gave City a 3-1 lead and put this contest to bed was sweet but still kissed Maguire on its way past David de Gea.

Which was a bit unusual … because a lot of other stuff went through the Manchester United captain’s legs.

It was another testing day at the office for Maguire, that is for sure.

Phil Foden was like the little kid poking the big lad because he knows he’s too slippery to be caught. And Maguire was booked for a foul on Kevin de Bruyne that was shockingly late.

It was a wonder Maguire had enough energy left to regularly harangue Michael Oliver.

Nope, apart from one excellent tackle on De Bruyne, it was another ropey contribution from the skipper.

But he should not be made a scapegoat. He was hardly alone in finding Manchester City’s elusive geniuses hard to deal with.

This is a United side that seems to be gasping for air every time it meets the highest quality of opposition.

This is a United side that looks as though it has the bare minimum of tactical instruction.

But most damningly, this is a United side that looks as though it KNOWS it cannot compete against City and, indeed, Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola’s men were brilliant, let’s not forget that. From top to bottom, they were excellent.

But even before that Mahrez strike - the first of his two goals - United had the appearance of a team that had