In a bad-tempered meeting at Old Trafford, United and City showed they are far from the finished product

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While London has a host of top-flight clubs and Liverpool have been regular contenders, the story of the Premier League can almost entirely be told with Mancunian main characters.

From Manchester United’s decade-plus of dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson to Manchester City’s emergence among the oil baron class, with a grip made firmer under Pep Guardiola’s guidance, it seems one must always beat a Manchester club to the title. Never before has the trophy spent more three seasons before returning to one of these two clubs, with a pair of three-year roadshows in the mid-2000s and mid-2010s.

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