THE smallest man on the pitch won one of the worst Manchester derbies in living memory as Pep Guardiola’s fallen champions continued on their journey down the gurgler.
With City leading after 88 minutes through Josko Gvardiol’s first-half header, Amad won a penalty which was converted by Bruno Fernandes, then netted a dramatic late winner.
It meant Guardiola’s side have won just once in their last 11 games and are now below Nottingham Forest, the only team they have beaten during this horror run, and out of the Champions League places.
For United boss Ruben Amorim, this was a remarkable victory, after he had ditched Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from his matchday squad in a show of early ruthlessness.
This was a Manchester derby which had been billed as the worst in decades and it pretty much was the worst in decades until Amad stole the show.
Pep Guardiola’s crumbling empire was pitted against the ancient ruins of Alex Ferguson’s dynasty and you couldn’t see any world-class quality for dust.
Two clubs which boast 21 titles of the 32 Premier League seasons contested are wallowing in mediocrity right now.
And United can only hope that the fall-out from this Manchester derby is better than the last one – when they won the FA Cup Final only to make the disastrous decision to stick with Erik ten Hag.
We had assembled to find out which Manchester club was in the worst state – the one which has been in crisis for ten games or the one which has been in crisis for the vast majority of the last 11 years.
United’s teamsheet seemed to suggest the answer – no Rashford or Garnacho with Amorim refusing to offer up any dodgy sicknotes.
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What is it with United wingers? From Mason Greenwood to Antony to Jadon Sancho to these two. No wonder Amorim prefers to play without any.
Hearts bled for the length of City’s injury list. Much more of this and Guardiola might have to start £100million Jack Grealish.
Either way it had been at least 35 years since this fixture had felt so forlorn on both sides.
On the pre-match trams there was nostalgia for the bad old days, the City faithful revelling in former failures – the old-timers telling their kids that ‘one win in ten was nothing, you should have been there in the Third Division’.
After back-to-back league defeats, United had been buoyed slightly by a Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen, who most of us assumed was ranked No 17 on the WTA Tour.
For half an hour it just advertised – two poor teams – with United marginally the better of them.
Although it might have helped them if Diallo had been onside at any point.
Mason Mount, whose luck with injuries has been horrible, hobbled off after 15 minutes to be replaced by Kobbie Mainoo.
Phil Foden, the Footballer of the Year who hasn’t scored a Premier League goal all season, drilled one wide from 20 yards.
City were ragged and passive until, suddenly, they were a goal ahead.
De Bruyne took a short corner to Ilkay Gundogan and a return pass before his deep cross took a ricochet on its way to Gvardiol, who leapt behind Diogo Dalot to power home a header.
After this brief burst of pride, City’s skipper Kyle Walker plunged his team back into shame.
While rutting heads with Rasmus Hojlund, Walker went down like a sack of spuds, sparking a mass bout of handbags and the genuine ire from the full-back’s long-term England team-mate Harry Maguire.
Yorkshiremen are not supposed to act like this, Maguire might have said. Although it was probably less polite than that.
Foden, looking a little more like last season’s model, then wriggled past Manuel Ugarte and Lisandro Martinez before his shot was deflected wide off Maguire.
But the first half was best summed up by a schoolboy pass from Dalot across his own penalty area, which went straight to Foden, who couldn’t control it.
After the break, if anything, the quality got even worse.
City decided to allow a free header to the tiniest player on the pitch, Diallo, and Ederson was forced into a full-stretch save to turn it around the post.
Mostly, though, it was an ongoing struggle for either side to string three passes together.
De Bruyne, pretty much our only hope for anything world-class, fizzed over a long-ranger and was then substituted in favour of Mateo Kovacic.
Unexpectedly, United engineered a coherent move.
Noussair Mazraoui went on a scampering run and fed Hojlund, whose excellent through-ball released Fernandes.
The United skipper deftly chipped Ederson but his effort went wide of the far post.
United deserved a point. It just ever felt entirely feasible that they would do enough good things in a row in order to score a goal.
Until, suddenly, they scored twice in two minutes.
The first was a personal disaster from Matheus Nunes, whose back-pass was intercepted by Diallo.
The little fella rounded Ederson and has he turned, the recovering Nunes stood on his foot.
Ref Anthony Taylor pointed at the spot and Fernandes thumped home.
tNext, Marinez delivered an expert pass from the deep, and Diallo shot between City’s central defenders to meet it, lobbing Ederson, then volleying home from an ankle as Walker failed to cut it out.
It was largely terrible but the finale was simply extraordinary.
