Manchester United discovered an unlikely new leader in Man City defeat

It shows how far Manchester United have fallen when a 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester City is not being treated with a full post-mortem.

In truth, United played better than many had feared but clearly ran out of steam as the match wore on. While it could not be described as an atrocious performance, it is still fair to say there were very few positives to take from what happened over the course of the 90 minutes.

In a damning indictment of how lacking in positives Sunday was, the biggest pro came outside of the match itself. Over the past few years, United have been desperately lacking leaders in their squad.

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Still, to this day players too often attempt to avoid accountability on the pitch and look for someone else to blame but now there appear to be subtle signs of this changing. Erik ten Hag, to his credit, has attempted to sign players with better attitudes.

One notable example is Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine defender steps up to the plate when called upon and doesn't shrink when the going gets tough - it is fair to say he has been a huge miss while injured.

But now another player looks to be taking up the mantle of leader in the dressing room - Rasmus Hojlund. When the youngster joined from Atalanta in the summer, many feared he would need a senior striker alongside him to act as a mentor.

In many ways, the need for an extra striker is more pertinent than ever but not to ensure he matures. The reliance United have had on Hojlund this season has seen him grow as a player and mentally he has become a shining light of the squad Ten Hag is trying to assemble.

This coming of age from the Dane was proven on