Blunt and tame, the 196th Manchester derby was a curio that failed to ignite despite the cross-town rivalry, conjuring memories of the last goalless affair of this sort here, in December 2020, before an empty Old Trafford, owing to Covid.
This edition can be rated slightly better yet, towards the close of play, when the substitute Joshua Zirkzee swung a boot at Patrick Dorgu’s cross and connected cleanly, the crowd perhaps sensed Ederson would save because a stalemate seemed so inevitable.
Manchester City’s No 1 stopped the shot and his team escaped, as they did also when a later penalty shout for Mateo Kovacic’s challenge on Casemiro was – correctly – waved away. This finished as a non-event in the sun, filled with scant incident and only marginally more goalmouth action.
Pep Guardiola will rue dropping two points in the chase for a Champions League berth – City remain fifth – while next for Ruben Amorim is United’s Europa League quarter-final first leg at Lyon on Thursday. Claim the competition and the Portuguese’s team will be in the blue riband continental club tournament next season, but the prospect remains a long way off.
United’s Patrick Dorgu has a shot on goal. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
In the four minutes of added time, United rallied and were the more potent but both teams lacked imagination and ruthlessness before goal. As United’s players wandered off at the final whistle, City went to thank their travelling fans, who applauded Kevin De Bruyne: this game representing his last at their arch-rival’s home before he departs in the summer.
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At the same time, the sit-in organised by the 1958 group to protest against the Glazer family’s ownership began around the stadium: for those taking part, gazing out on to an empty pitch was only slightly less invigorating than what had just been witnessed.
