Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer paid £837m to give Man City a 'training session'

United's derby day showing just wasn't good enough and City almost played like they were on the training ground

The headline really does say it all.

It almost felt like it couldn't get any worse for Manchester United after the recent defeat to Liverpool - and then Saturday happened. It was clear that Manchester City were levels above United, but the worst part of it all was it felt like there was a real lack of passion from the home side.

As per James Ducker of The Telegraph , the total cost of United's matchday squad was £837.1 million (this includes any potential add-ons).

And yet, despite that enormous outlay and with so many footballing superstars on the pitch, United seemed to show absolutely no desire, and worst of all they just let City play.

One of the worst things you can do is give City time on the ball, yet Pep Guardiola's side probably felt like they were in the middle of a training session rather than a Manchester derby.

The visitors just sprayed passes around Old Trafford like they were the only players on the pitch, safe in the knowledge that none of their mistakes would be punished. At one point, Kevin De Bruyne actually started to tie his laces in the middle of the pitch while Bruno Fernandes was on the attack.

In fairness, why would they be worried? United only had three shots on target all game - only one of which was actually aimed at the City goal!

City didn't make any substitutes while United made four (Luke Shaw went off after suffering a blow to the head) but the home side looked like the team who were in need of fresh legs as City continued to pick them apart at will.

Only David de Gea came out of the game with any real credit as City would have had five or six if it wasn't for his fine display. Teams used to think of Old Trafford as a fortress, now it's more like a bouncy castle.

Roy Keane said as much in his post-match analysis for Sky Sports.

"Phil Foden mentioned it [Old Trafford] is a tough place to come, it’s not. Ask Everton, ask Aston Villa and Liverpool," the former United captain said of Solskjaer's side's home displays this season.

The players deserve their fair share of the criticism but ultimately the failures of the team fall on the shoulders of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

£224 million of the aforementioned total was spent on the defence and they looked absolutely lost. City were playing without a recognised striker and against United's deep backline they were given plenty of space to weave their magic. Ultimately, having an extra defender on the pitch proved to be futile.

Furthermore, it was clear that the United players had been told to retain a defensive shape which they would immediately return to whenever City were on the ball.

This caused a whole host of problems. City enjoyed so much possession that United just sat back for the entire game and never really threatened to press the opposition, while the visitors took full advantage and pressed further and further up the pitch, eventually grabbing a two-goal lead before toying with United for the remainder of the game.

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Solskjaer did try to mix things up with a formation tweak and some substitutions but City continued to dominate as fans were once again left asking themselves 'what does Solskjaer want his team to do?' as they streamed out of Old Trafford.

On paper, this doesn't look as bad as the Liverpool defeat, but in some ways it's actually worse. City could have filled their boots had they wanted, but they knew United were of no threat to them and so just knocked the ball about for 90 minutes.

As derby days go, that was pretty shocking.

Do you think Solskjaer can find a way to solve United's problems? Follow our United On My Mind writer Casey Evans on Twitter and get involved in the discussion in the comment section below.