United 2 - 0 City

• Too similar to the 1-0 earlier in the season for my liking. The scoreline wasn't too bad but the performance was very insipid. Once ahead United only ever looked like winning, and we never even forced them to play like they can. Despite all the pre-game chatter about how much this meant to the players, there was no passion, no bite in our performance.

• I was quite hopeful that at a minimum the de Jong/Kompany/Ireland trio would put some pressure on the United midfield and make it difficult for them to play. But they did nothing of the sort. United always had too much time and space. Had they wanted to play like they did at the Emirates on Tuesday, they could have done. But withdrawing Ronaldo before the hour mark showed just how comfortable it was for them. Losing to United is understandable - they are quite significantly better than us. But giving them such an easy time? It's not impressive.
  

• The real disappointment was Stephen Ireland. I had such high hopes that he was going to produce his very best on the biggest stage. But he was totally neutralised by Darren Fletcher. He barely got in the game, and his passing was uncharacteristically profligate. And when Ireland doesn't play well, we struggle to do anything going forward. It was not until the Bulgarians came on that we had any pace or urgency going forward.
  

• Seventh looks a huge ask now. The most points we can possibly get is 53, in which case we'd be relying on Fulham to take three points or fewer from Newcastle (a) and Everton (h). Which won't happen. But that's presuming we get 53. If we play like that at White Hart Lane, we'll get beaten badly. So we're looking at Bolton at home to get us to the fifty point mark, which isn't exactly a great return on our investment.

• If there's one straw to clutch, it's this: Carlos Tévez's celebration, and Ferguson's reaction to it ('As for Carlos Tevez, he's a United player. I'm not going into it any further'), suggest that he's unlikely to be there next season. But even then we must be big outsiders for his signature. Do you think today's performance will have convinced him to join us rather than Liverpool?