The Red Devils now trail Arsenal by a point in fourth, who also have three games in hand.

At the top of the table, Liverpool also have a game in hand to reduce City’s advantage to three points.

But Pep Guardiola’s men responded to the pressure applied by the Reds’ seven-game winning run in the league by bouncing back from two sup-par performances against Tottenham and Everton.

Defeat means there is now a 22-point gap between the clubs and is another blow to United’s chances of just qualifying for the Champions League next season.

United were without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani in attack, but it was defenders Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw, missing due to positive cases of corona virus, whose presence was most keenly missed.