Paul Pogba's cavalier performance in the Manchester derby was behind United's defeat by arch rivals City on Saturday, according to Sportsmail columnist Jamie Carragher.
In the first Premier League meeting between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola the Spaniard claimed local bragging rights with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford courtesy of first half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Speaking on Sky's Monday Night Football, Carragher believes it was less Guardiola's tactical masterclass and more Pogba's poor discipline that cost United.
'I don't think Guardiola got it massively right, I think Mourinho got it tactically wrong,' said Carragher.
'He (Mourinho) wasn't helped specifically by the performance of Pogba.
'For a central midfielder in a game of that magnitude it was one of the most ill disciplined performances I've seen in the first 45 minutes.
'It was like the best kid in a school yard - he does what he wants, he runs where he wants.
'I never thought I'd say this, but I felt so sorry for Fellaini... because he was left on his own.
'Forget what Pogba has cost or has done what he's done... he's not a kid,' he added.
The former Liverpool defender believes that Pogba has to show more control when playing in a midfield pair, especially in games of this magnitude.
'He (Pogba) has to be disciplined in a two playing against (David) Silva and De Bruyne. Either he's got it wrong or Mourinho has got it wrong by giving him license to be roam.
'It's embarrassing (the amount of space Silva had) in a game of this magnitude. To give that space to maybe the best player in the Premier League is unbelievable.
'I don't think Mourinho should be playing Pogba in a game of that magnitude in a two-an midfield - it looks to me that he can't do it.
Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville also believes that Mourinho got the game tactically wrong, but doesn't think Pogba was at fault - instead blaming ineffectual wingers Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan who were both substituted.
'The way Pogba played was not surprising. In all the time that he's played for Juventus, he's played in a midfield three, he's not someone you would play in a two in midfield because he doesn't have the discipline,' said Neville.
'You wouldn't want him to be disciplined. His strength is getting forward,' he added.
The younger Neville brother insisted United's performance improved in the second half after Lingard and Mkhitaryan were sacrificed, while urging Mourinho to use Pogba further forward even if that means dropping Wayne Rooney into midfield.
'It got better for Mourinho in the second half because he changed the system and personnel... it's those two players (Lingard and Mkhitaryan) who failed the Manchester United system,' he said.
'In big games Mourinho will have to look at the set up of his midfield. I think he has to play Pogba further up - he had a similar problem with (Cesc) Fabregas at Chelsea - and go with a three in midfield.
'Rooney has to play... there is flexibility with Rooney and like any manager that's ever managed him, they start off saying he will play up front before they realise he is equally as effective in other positions.'
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