A draw at Manchester City is a credible result for any team, especially for a Manchester United side without Paul Pogba -- whose absence made the heart grow fonder as his balance, forward passes, unpredictability and athleticism were missed -- as well as Juan Mata, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

For his efforts into wish his team good luck on social media ahead of the game, Smalling received a thick stream of pernicious bile from largely angry, anonymous people professing to support Manchester United.

Injuries and mixed form have meant that Smalling is not having his best season and has been way off the level he reached at the start of last season when he was United's best defender, but it happens to most footballers at some point.

It doesn't mean they're a disaster or that they need selling immediately and certainly doesn't warrant such vitriol, even if Jose Mourinho didn't help the cause of Smalling and Jones when his criticism that suggested they didn't want to play. Short of calling their manager a liar, how are they expected to respond to that?

Some fans need a scapegoat to target, to vent their frustrations. Marouane Fellaini knows all about that. Unlike several other players at United, the midfielder enjoys an excellent -- some might say charmed -- relationship with his manager, but he needs to learn from errors such as the retaliation against Sergio Aguero that saw him shown a deserved red card on Thursday.

Thanks to Fellaini's unnecessary sending off and Timothy Fosu-Mensah's injury, only 13 senior players are set to be fit for Sunday's game against Swansea. As Mourinho pointed out after the game, United are fatigued and have played 13 more games overall than third-placed Liverpool side, over whom they have a game in hand. Liverpool's home defeat to Crystal Palace last Sunday was a bad result, but Jurgen Klopp's side have just four games left this season; United have at least seven.

The derby draw meant United are unbeaten in 24 league matches, equalling the club's longest record within a top-flight season. Given that 11 of those games have been drawn, it's been a very frustrating unbeaten run but, regardless, 24 games is impressive.

Mourinho justifiably set his side up to be as obstinate and unambitious as they were at Liverpool in another 0-0 draw earlier in the season, and his defence was rightly heralded for its performance. Such an approach is not what you'd hope for from a classic United side, but this is not a classic United side.

Instead, it's a team fifth in the table that has been sixth for most of the season. And yet, United control their own destiny and can finish in the top four when it matters. Be it via the league or the Europa League or the Premier League, Champions League qualification is essential.

With away games to come at Arsenal, Tottenham and Southampton, the league run-in is difficult. As well as Swansea, Crystal Palace are yet to visit Old Trafford and both of those games should also be wins. If they are not, United don't deserve to finish in the top four.

Beyond the result, a negative eye would call Thursday's game another dull Manchester derby, another underwhelming encounter that failed to justify the pre-match expectations. By contrast, fourc days earlier came another reminder that El Clasico is consistently excellent; both Real Madrid and Barcelona showing an unrelenting attacking spirit.

There was no such game played out at the Etihad Stadium, despite Manchester's clubs having the highest concentration of star names outside Spain's big two. The fear of failure remains and City's inability to break down United frustrated home fans already on a downer after being eliminated from the FA Cup by Arsenal last weekend.

City had 69 percent of possession -- United's share was their lowest in the Premier League era -- and far more chances, though their opponents had the best opportunity of the game when Ander Herrera missed on the stroke of half-time with a free header in front of the 3,000 travelling fans.

The mood around United is more positive than City, despite the Blues being a point ahead in the league. United won the Community Shield and the EFL Cup and are looking forward to a Europa League semifinal against Celta Vigo. The run in that competition has been another positive this season, not that anyone wants a repeat next term.

United also have eight points more after 33 league games than at the same stage last season and have lost only three matches. The sparks and shoots of recovery are there in glimpses, with recent evidence being Anthony Martial's counter-attacking goal at Burnley and the tactical masterclass against Chelsea. Mourinho is also right to talk of spirit and resilience, though wins will always trump such talk.

He plans to spend heavily again in the close season, to get the side nearer to the title-winning one he wants. Like City, United remain some way short and the expectation surrounding the two English teams with the highest wage bills has proved overblown. In that sense, Thursday's stalemate served as a fitting metaphor for two sides that have come up short in this season's league campaign.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by ANDY MITTEN

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