Manchester United would win the title if Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was in charge of them rather than current gaffer Jose Mourinho.
That’s the verdict of former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher, who says the Red Devils’ squad would have been deemed better than the Blues’ in the summer.
United sit second in the Premier League despite successive draws with Leicester and Burnley having collected 43 points from 20 games.
They are already a distant 15 adrift of leaders City though and many believe the title race is over.
Carragher believes United would be in their local rivals’ place if they were being led by Guardiola instead of Mourinho.
“If Pep Guardiola was in charge of the United squad I believe they would win the title,” he said.
“Rewind to the start of this season and assess the head-to-head qualities of the United andCitysquads. Player-for-player, which would you argue was superior?
“Was Ederson considered better than David De Gea? Were City’s centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones preferable to Eric Bailly and Phil Jones? Did United fans want Fernandinho or Nemanja Matic?
“United broke the world transfer record to sign Paul Pogba, and then made Romelu Lukaku the most expensive Premier League player of last summer. Which English clubs made bigger statements of intent?
“How many United or England fans would have swapped Marcus Rashford for Raheem Sterling a year ago? And when Anthony Martial first arrived from Monaco, was his reputation greater than that of Leroy Sane when he joined City?
“Although he was signed before Mourinho’s appointment, Luke Shaw was a £30 million full-back – more expensive than City striker Gabriel Jesus. The United manager’s complaints about the value of the squads do not add up.
“We can go on throughout the respective lists. Where Mourinho sees players unable to execute his tactical blueprint, I believe Guardiola would have taken a different approach with a squad Mourinho believes needs reinforcing.”
Guardiola and Mourinho will next lock horns in the Premier League when they meet at the Etihad in April.
