"Olé, olé, olé."
The cheers went on, promptly proceeded by the Poznań across the stands.
Manchester United couldn’t get close to their counterparts from across the city as proceedings drew to a close on Sunday evening, with each pass made by the home side greeted with an ironic "olé" from their supporters. United were being toyed with, played with like a puppet on strings.
City took the lead before the clock even ticked past the five minute mark, and it was hardly a small lapse from United that saw them trail. The first few minutes had been those of an equal contest, irreflective of United's early concession, though they nonetheless found themselves cut open with distinct ease against City's first meaningful passage of possession.
The home side were afforded too much space, with United slack in their attempts to close City down. It was made too easy for Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish to navigate a tight area, with the former not prevented by any of the three players tasked with closing him down. As a consequence, the ball was able to be played into a gaping hole inside the penalty area.
Alex Telles was inattentive to the danger posed by Kevin de Bruyne alone inside the box from Silva's ball, spotting the City midfielder but allowing him space to shoot and beat David de Gea. De Bruyne was granted the freedom to simply amble into the scoring position.
The ultimate finish found its way through the returning Harry Maguire's legs, climaxing a comedy of substandard defending through the entirety of United's ranks.
It was an early blow to United, who had come out of the blocks with purpose and confidence, even though they were without Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw due to positive COVID tests, plus Cristiano Ronaldo through a reoccurrence of a hip flexor injury. The absence of the aforementioned defensive pair was telling as City took the lead.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo's absence led to the deployment of an unorthodox system, in which Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba lined up as split makeshift strikers during phases. Edinson Cavani, despite having trained for three days, again opted out of the squad having not felt quite ready to return. Again, to many, it frustratingly seemed a case of 'picking and choosing' his own availability, paradoxical to his on-field willingness.
Going through a tough patch of form, Marcus Rashford didn't even find himself named on the team-sheet at the Etihad despite the absence of a recognised striker. Instead, a different dynamic was offered as Anthony Elanga and Jadon Sancho were relied on as runners beside Fernandes and Pogba. However, the initial plan of catching City in transition proved flawed, with United finding themselves with more than the anticipated share of possession instead of remaining compact behind the ball.
Although they took an early lead, City took time to settle into the game, with United able to play on the front foot - stemming from the defence. The issue of a lack of focal point and attacking presence did rear its head, yet United did reap the rewards for their maintained positivity. It wasn't from a pure counter attack as such - more a collection of pieces of interplay to engineer an opening from deep.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka played his part, restoring possession with a flick over Silva's attempted challenge before chipping the ball into Elanga. From there, Elanga and Fernandes combined briskly to find Pogba, whose through ball was well-weighted to greet Sancho's run. Fernandes acted as a decoy to drag Kyle Walker away from Sancho, who was measured to set the ball away from Rodri and finish past Ederson on his former patch. Sancho again provided the goods on the left hand side.
Whilst an equaliser would usually prove a side to be back in a match, it unfolded as a catalyst for City to shift up a gear or two. They responded as United had done, again consequential to United's own concoction of mishaps.
Elanga gave the ball away inside his own half, which promptly found its way to Phil Foden, who was innovative in his skill to deceive a committed Victor Lindelof and manoeuvre into the box. De Gea saved Foden's effort, though this only preceded a pinball exchange as a subsequent block from Maguire was poked back into De Bruyne by Telles for the Belgian to secure his brace.
United's work in attack was rendered irrelevant by the substandard defensive showing, ruinous amidst a relatively successful tactical approach in spite of its unfamiliarity. The disorganisation and miscalculations at the back led to an easily exploitable defensive setup.
Maguire had strangely neglected an opportunity to clear the ball on this occasion, instead allowing it to run through his legs back into the danger zone for further bombardment of De Gea's goal. In addition, those relied on to prevent City's surge were too casual in their approach: Fred let De Bruyne free to bypass him, Lindelof didn't recover after being beaten by Foden and Wan-Bissaka was flaccid in his attempts to deny the rout of shots.
United completely lost their rhythm, promoting a stark mismatch with City impeccably settled . The drop in the visitor's intent was drastic, resulting in off instant inferiority. They had grown incredibly negative, with the ball once ending back with De Gea from a corner of their own, encapsulating the forfeiture of belief.
Within the opening few minutes of the half, Wan-Bissaka had found himself dispossessed by Silva inside his own box, soon after grounded by Foden through mere desire to exert aggression. Despite not seeming to have done anything wrong over the course of his run of starts, and statistically United's standout defender under Rangnick, Diogo Dalot missed out from the starting side for the fourth consecutive match. Both of City's goals had stemmed from moves down Wan-Bissaka's right side, which was being targetted to avail.
United completely lost their rhythm, promoting a stark mismatch with City impeccably settled off the back of the pause. The drop in the visitor's intent was drastic, resulting in near-instant inferiority. They had grown incredibly negative, with the ball once ending back with De Gea from a corner of their own, encapsulating the forfeiture of belief.
Two Mancunians were introduced just beyond the hour mark in Rashford and Jesse Lingard, though there was no distinct upturn in the spirit of the showing. Instead, there was more of an air of dispiritedness at omission from the starting side.
Only minutes after the United alterations, they found themselves conceding for a third time; Riyad Mahrez was aided by a deflection off Maguire following a first-time strike from the edge of the box directly from a De Bruyne corner. The goal was unpreventable but the corner was, with United lacking endeavour and making it too simplistic for City to find their way forward from the back.
United grew almost timid, out of sync in contrast to their first half coordination. They were devoid of answers to City's established foothold, completely unable to break out from the back or gain any form of material possession.
It became blatant that the home side were willing to work harder, their world of superiority enhanced by their resolution. On the contrary, United started to stroll around, disheartened, losing every battle - such that De Bruyne even managed to beat Maguire in a battle of physique.
A gulf grew that words can't do justice, with a disgruntling air of resignation by United that they were second best.
Then came the ironic cheers, followed by the home crowd turning their back and doing the Poznań. They didn't even have to watch to know the ease at which their team was operating. United weren't getting anywhere near City. They had all but given up, with City allowed 15 minute phases of in excess of 90% possession.
It transformed into a contest of 'men v boys'. In fact, it became far from any contest. United had the demeanour of quitters.
Before the full time whistle could come, Mahrez found the net yet again for City. United's display of closing down was lacklustre after a loose kick from De Gea, from which he seemed to hurt himself; Ilkay Gundogan eased and glided away from any blockage, slotting through to Mahrez to face up to an unset De Gea and convert.
That Mahrez was ever able to run free of Telles was unforgivable. It was far too easy. The second half had been beyond easy for City. United had been cut through like a knife through butter. Their efforts were measly.
By this time, anyway, the away end was majorly drained. It is a rare sight for travelling United supporters to trickle out so prematurely, though it was only a reciprocation of the effort given by those on the pitch.
United amassed a total of zero expected goals in the second half, not managing a single shot, with only 21% possession throughout the period. After 28 games, the gap between the intercity rivals has been extended to 22 points.
"There were five or six players there who should never play for United again," Roy Keane insisted. "It was shameful."
'Passion and desire' may be mocked qualities but you can't get anywhere without them, as proven by United on Sunday for all the wrong reasons. It is impossible to win a football match without showing any intent. It is impossible to win a football match when simply strolling around. United did both of the aforementioned and were victims of a massacre.
Those on the pitch often almost looked as though they couldn’t be bothered to challenge City throughout the second half.
Sustaining such unwilling character won't allow any form of top four fight as the run-in approaches. No matter the manager, the same issues have been prevalent; as Keane has suggested, an overhaul is seeming a growing necessity. However, the likely failure to qualify for the Champions League will be of detriment to the available budget.
Frankly, United are in the midst of a vicious cycle. Hence, the road back is still poised to be a lengthy one, with issues too rife for a quick fix to be administered. As proven by the signings of Varane, Sancho and Ronaldo last summer, the downward spiral of the club is too radical to be rectified in a single transfer window.
In the sternest test that United have faced under Rangnick to date, they were outright obliterated having looked almost entirely disinterested for a considerable portion of proceedings. Meetings with Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are still to come, mind.
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