With the speculation swirling, Mauricio Pochettino thought he had caught a break on the field in Manchester. The Paris Saint‑Germain manager, hotly linked with the vacant post across town at United, had watched his team look vulnerable at the back and erratic all over. It was difficult to make out the gameplan. And then they led through Kylian Mbappé early in the second half. On one level, it felt like a credible pitch for Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s old job.
It would have been ridiculous for Manchester City to have lost this Champions League game or even to have drawn because they were the better team for so long. It was Pep Guardiola who had the well-grooved strategy, it was he who had the better players – namely Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva – although profligacy threatened to undermine him.
