It had to take a flick off Harry Maguire, of course it did.
The Riyad Mahrez strike that gave City a 3-1 lead and put this contest to bed was sweet but still kissed Maguire on its way past David de Gea.
Which was a bit unusual … because a lot of other stuff went through the Manchester United captain’s legs.
It was another testing day at the office for Maguire, that is for sure.
Phil Foden was like the little kid poking the big lad because he knows he’s too slippery to be caught. And Maguire was booked for a foul on Kevin de Bruyne that was shockingly late.
It was a wonder Maguire had enough energy left to regularly harangue Michael Oliver.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Maguire be dropped? Let us know in the comments.
Nope, apart from one excellent tackle on De Bruyne, it was another ropey contribution from the skipper.
But he should not be made a scapegoat. He was hardly alone in finding Manchester City’s elusive geniuses hard to deal with.
This is a United side that seems to be gasping for air every time it meets the highest quality of opposition.
This is a United side that looks as though it has the bare minimum of tactical instruction.
But most damningly, this is a United side that looks as though it KNOWS it cannot compete against City and, indeed, Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s men were brilliant, let’s not forget that. From top to bottom, they were excellent.
But even before that Mahrez strike - the first of his two goals - United had the appearance of a team that had accepted they were second-best.
In commentary, Gary Neville said it looked like they had given up.
Perhaps he is right. But more likely, they are a) not fit enough and b) not good enough.
Maguire is a fine defender who has simply not been good enough this season but he is far from alone on that score.
Paul Pogba’s contribution to this match was, saving the pass for Jadon Sancho’s equaliser, mediocre and the same could be said of the McFred axis.
But the glaring issue was at the back.
When they face high-level adversaries, this is a United defence that always looks likely to concede, no matter what combination the coach fields.
It is not just Maguire’s fault.
Bear in mind, this was a back four - Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Maguire and Alex Telles - that cost almost £180million.
It goes without saying that one of the priorities for the new manager this summer will be to find a way to make United something like watertight.
And that has to mean a change of personnel, because this is personnel that plainly does not believe in themselves.
There are no rifts in the dressing-room, we keep being told. It is all harmonious. Well, this second half performance told you differently.
There was little energy, little cohesion, little motivation, little interaction to try and lift each other. When the new coach arrives in the summer, he has not only got Harry to sort out, that is for sure.
