THIS IS OUR CITY. The banner was unfurled just before kick-off, stretching almost the full length of the pitch. It was quite a sight, quite a statement, and it was sponsored, like the stadium, by Abu Dhabi’s national airline, one of those ever-present reminders of just how Manchester football’s rivalry has changed over the past 11 years.



It is the kind of thing Manchester City and their supporters have claimed for many years, but these days they say it with conviction. They no longer expect days like Saturday, which ended with Manchester United’s players cavorting on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium, throwing their shirts to delirious fans in the away end, and with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declaring that “We’ve painted the city red”.



Axel Tuanzebe, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but raised in Rochdale, had used the same phrase beforehand. “You know which side of the city is red and which side is blue,” the young...