Man City can forget about Manchester United after derby mismatch

As the clocks went back, Manchester City took a step forward by outclassing Manchester United to keep pace at the top of the Premier League table.

Erling Haaland's goal was enough to win the 191st Manchester derby but the brutal truth in the city is that this is just another three points for the Blues in their wider ambitions of winning the biggest prizes on offer. Having been underdogs for decades in this fixture, the swing to City has been so quick and so hard that the few years when the teams were competing against each other for silverware a decade ago seem much further back in time.

United seem stuck there, as evidenced by Jonny Evans lining up at centre-back against City at Old Trafford for the first time since the 6-1 in 2011 in the season that brought City their first Premier League title. The score in league titles won since then is 6-1, and there was only one team on the pitch on Sunday that looked capable of winning come May.

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City still have room for improvement of course. Josko Gvardiol was caught in possession a few times in his own half early on by Bruno Fernandes, and before the break Pep Guardiola rollocked Phil Foden for attempting a Hollywood ball across the penalty box rather than being smarter about using possession. But despite their flaws - understandable at this stage of the season in any campaign but especially in the one after winning a Treble - City were not streets better than United or miles better but years better. Based on this, it will be an awfully long time before United can boast to compete with the Blues again.

Perhaps the gulf seemed greater because