Man Utd legend believes Paul Pogba's absence proved to be a telling factor in the derby defeat to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Paul Pogba's absence meant Manchester Unitedstruggled to pass the ball through midfield against Man City, according to Gary Neville.
The former United defender believes the French World Cup winner was always going to be crucial to any dreams of a derby day victory at the Etihad stadium.
Pogba missed the match against City through injury, with Marouane Fellaini brought into the midfield to replace him.
However, United were uninspiring in Pogba's absence and managed just one shot on target as they fell to a convincing 3-1 defeat.
And speaking after the match Neville revealed just why Jose Mourinho missed the charismatic midfielder so much.
"United's midfield could not pass the ball forward," Neville told Sky Sports. "You're not going to win Premier League titles, and the front three don't have the precision and ruthlessness as say Liverpool's front three or City's front three.
"United in all parts of the pitch are behind the other teams that are going for the title so to think about comparing them is unfair because they are no where near.
"Pogba is the one player who thinks he can play in any stadium in the world and any pitch in the world in front of any player in the world and take them on.
"He believes in himself which is a great quality to have, and should never be underestimated to be carry that through the scrutiny that he has, the criticism that he has, the price tag, he still carries that weight in the team and the team look towards him. He can carry the ball and he can play the pass. The rest look to him.
"I thought United were in deep trouble when I found out he wasn't playing, a midfield of (Nemanja) Matic, Fellaini and (Ander) Herrera I was thinking how are they going to get the ball through midfield and transfer it.
"It was never going to happen, I didn't see how it was going to happen without him."
