Remember when Manchester was billed as the capital of football? When United and City shared four Premier League titles in successive seasons between 2011 and 2014, it seemed as though the city's dream was close to coming true. If anyone had predicted in those heady days three years ago that Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho would soon be in charge at the Etihad and Old Trafford respectively, the assumption would have been that the Mancunian clubs' domination was about to be entrenched.
It has not worked out that way.
Under Mourinho, United are still undergoing a rebuilding process as they try to adjust to life after Sir Alex Ferguson.