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On current form in the battle to rule Manchester, Jose Mourinho looks like a man on the march while Pep Guardiola is only shuffling.

I have been far more impressed with Manchester United over the last six weeks than with Man City, who have stalled after making such an impressive start in the Premier League.

But it’s strange that after spending £400million in two-and-a-half years under Louis van Gaal and Mourinho, United’s most important player has turned out to be a 35-year-old midfielder who was on their books all along.

The Special One finally looks like he is close to knowing his best side – and Michael Carrick must be the first name on the teamsheet.

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The stats don’t lie.

United’s record with Carrick in the team this season is remarkable: 12 appearances, 10 wins, two draws.

In 13 games without him, they have won only four.

With Carrick holding the fort, Paul Pogba is beginning to look like a player no longer weighed down by his world-record £89million price tag and Ander Herrera has played his best football for the club under Mourinho.

Up front, maybe there is not a lot of pace with Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata in a 4-3-3 formation, but with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in the wings, United now have frightening options.

(Image: Getty)

Add in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was looking the part before he got injured last weekend, and Phil Jones, who has suddenly turned back into the confident, assertive player Sir Alex Ferguson signed five years ago, and Mourinho is heading in the right direction.

Yes, Marcos Rojo was lucky to escape a red card for a two-footed lunge at Crystal Palace – it doesn’t matter that he didn’t actually catch Wilfried Zaha, it was a potentially dangerous challenge – and their first goal should have been disallowed, but United deserved to win the game.

(Image: Man Utd via Getty)

They did what Mourinho's Chelsea teams used to do so well – they found a way to win, they managed to grind out a result.

I tipped United to win the title back in August.

Sadly that is going to be beyond them, because the 13-point gap to Chelsea (of whom more here ) at the top is too much to make up.

But as I also said in this column last week, I think the worst is over for Mourinho at Old Trafford now.

(Image: Getty)

They have been playing well and deserve more points than they have collected – in every case, they were the better side in the six games they have drawn of the last 10.

Of all the top-four contenders, they look most capable of stringing together a run of six or seven wins.

The table doesn’t lie, and United may not win the title – but I still think they will finish above City.