Ear we go... but a freezing cold game never caught fire

THERE was a little over 20 minutes to go when Pep Guardiola turned to the Manchester City fans behind him and put his hands in his ears. He wasn't shutting out the noise, but wondering where it was.

-  TYRONE MARSHALL

Lunchtime kick-offs are never the best for atmosphere, but this fixture is the Premier League's biggest and the animosity between these two sides brings an edge that usually manifests itself morning, noon or night. Instead, a game that never really caught fire on a freezing cold day felt like it kind of drifted along.

Guardiola wanted more from the fans, but the fans probably wanted more from their team.

Erling Haaland's record-breaking first-half goal - his 50th in 48 Premier League games threatened to give the game lift-off, but it felt like the second half got cooler than the first at times, certainly from a City perspective.