By midway through the second half, both sides in the Manchester derby were walking in possession. Was it exhaustion? Was it a lack of ambition? Was it pragmatism in a season of slog that still hasn’t quite shaken out? Perhaps it was a little of all three, but the result was a dirge of a football match in which almost nothing happened.
Both clubs, perhaps, were happy with the point. Manchester United goes four points behind the leader Tottenham, and steadies the ship after the midweek exit from the Champions League. Manchester City is a point further back and so can consider that it remains in the race after a theoretically testing away game, a fixture it lost last season.