Jose Mourinho approaches football through military tactics. By making the Manchester Derby all about City, everyone walked into a territory Jose still has some hold over.

It’s been a strange week for Manchester City; a week that was supposed to be the coronation for a staggeringly brilliant team, has brought forth defeat, reflection and a sense of uncovered distance when everyone thought the summit had been scaled.

It was a week where Liverpool entered a European knock-out tie at Anfield as underdogs, but in the end Pep Guardiola’s men came out of the match with tails between their legs. A day or so later, Pep claimed to have had first refusal on United’s two biggest stars, and he saw them combine to convert a 2-0 half-time score to 2-3.

In a couple of days, Manchester City will again play Liverpool, which will be another uphill task, given the deficit. Stories of great European nights often come with an illustration of the crowd and atmosphere willing teams over the line, and Etihad hasn’t been a picture of fire or fury lately. Their league-winning party, however, is merely postponed. The punch thrown in by Jose Mourinho last Sunday was more a parting, albeit bruising, jab than a decisive, knockout hit.