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Sir Alex Ferguson was left so humiliated by Man Utd's first-half display against bitter rivals Man City he couldn't bare to face anyone.

The legendary Red Devils boss oversaw a glory period at the club in which he led United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League triumphs.

But United have suffered a steep decline since his retirement in 2013, as their noisy neighbours City have enjoyed great success.

The disparity between the two clubs was laid bare in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday, as City found themselves three goals ahead at half-time in their 3-1 win .

And United's performance was so bad Fergie was desperate to make a swift exit from the directors box, as executive vice chairman Ed Woodward was seen slumped in his chair.

(Image: REUTERS)

A club source said: “The directors lounge wasn’t a good place to be at half time from a United point of view.

“All Sir Alex wanted to do was go straight to his office. He couldn’t face anyone and was determined to be somewhere else, while Mr Woodward just had his head in his hands.”

Goals from Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez had put City two in front, followed an unfortunate own goal by United midfielder Andreas Pereira to make it three before the break.

(Image: EMPICS Sport)

United's current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come under increased pressure since the result, as the hashtag #OleOut was mentioned on Twitter every four seconds in the immediate aftermath.

Woodward and Ferguson have backed Solskjaer to turn around the club's fortunes as part of a long-term project, but it has so far failed to achieve the desired results.

Solskjaer admitted after the match that the opening 45 minutes were a low point for United under his management.

"From their goal until half-time, that is the worst that we have played," he said. "From the first goal to half-time we just could not cope with that setback. We were running in between.

(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

"The pressure didn't work and we let them play. Our heads dropped. We just made decisions that we should not do.

"That needed sorting at half-time... Someone needed to take the responsibility and we did that in the second half."

Marcus Rashford's second-half strike salvaged some hope for United, but they now face an uphill task to reach the final.

(Image: PA)

However Solskjaer remained positive ahead of the second leg, scheduled for January 29.

"When you come in at half-time with that result then pride is one word that you speak about," he added. "Make sure you win the second half and you are in the tie.

"Of course, it's a difficult task that we have got in front of us but that second half at least gives us something to hang on to. After that second half, we have got something that we believe in."

Yet Solskjaer accepted United are still currently trailing some distance behind both City and rivals Liverpool.

"I’ve said before it’s not a quick fix, the two teams are the best in the world, Europe," Solskjaer continued.

“This is something that we’ve started and I think you can see we’re still a way off. We started something that needed doing.”