City’s decline was added to United’s decline. The (different) reasons for the collapse of a city
What’s happening in Manchester? United and City have traditionally been synonymous with victories: the Red Devils under Alex Ferguson won the Premier League 13 times in the first 21 years of the competition; the Citizens with Pep Guardiola are the tyrants of the last decade, with 6 successes in the last 7 seasons, the last 4 consecutive. 2024-25, however, marks the crisis for both. The reigning champions have won only one of the last 13 matches and are sinking so fast that no one is talking about a fifth consecutive title anymore. The rivals have collected 4 defeats in the last 5 matches and 14th place in the standings after 18 matches. It’s going so badly that not even the idea of having beaten their rivals in the derby with a comeback in the last two minutes is any consolation.