Scott McTominay faced the media's questioning after Manchester United's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday evening.The combative midfielder was one of few United players who could take much pride from their derby performance with braces from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez subjecting them to a miserable day at the office.And although the Red Devils looked pretty tepid from the word go - despite briefly drawing level through Jadon Sancho - they sank to new depths of despair with a truly awful second-half display.

Man Utd tail off vs Man City

Remarkable statistics emerged after the game showing that United hadn't amassed a single shot after the break, while their 'Noisy Neighbours' rattled 14 efforts at David de Gea's goal.

Marry that to spells where the Premier League champions had more than 90% possession and the uphill battle that Ralf Rangnick faces at Old Trafford couldn't have been made any clearer.

Besides, it wasn't necessarily the fact that United lost at the Etihad Stadium that had fans angrily bashing away at their keyboards, but rather the listless manner in which their performance gradually petered out.

Accusations that Man Utd gave up

As such, there were accusations from both fans and pundits alike that United players had downed tools, essentially allowing their energy levels to drop in the face of certain defeat to the Citizens.

However, no matter how passionately anyone might have voiced or tweeted that accusation, the simple fact of the matter is that only the United players themselves know whether or not that's the case.

As such, it wasn't surprising to see Sky Sport's Geoff Shreeves putting that very theory to McTominay when he stepped in front of the lights and cameras for a tough post-match interview.

And while facing the media after such a crushing defeat will forever prove to be a thankless task, McTominay conducted himself in passionate and dignified fashion to deny claims that United threw in the towel.

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McTominay responds to the accusations

When presented with the accusations, the 25-year-old told Sky Sports: "From my point of view, on the pitch, it's hard to see what's going on around you but if that's what people are saying then so be it.

"They're all entitled to their own opinion but, for myself, it's incredibly disappointing if people think that.

"I'll have to watch it back and see body language and things like that but, for myself, it hurts. If you give a team like that all the time in the world in the second half, you're gonna get punished. It's as simple as that."

McTominay's undoubted effort

It couldn't have been any clearer from McTominay's demeanour and body language that suggestions of United players calling it a day really affected him.

Besides, say what you like about McTominay and his capabilities as a regular starter for one of Europe's biggest clubs, but you can never accuse him of not giving 110% for the United cause.

As such, the Scotsman is probably a better barometer than most for just how much effort the Red Devils really gave to the cause in what will endure as one of their darkest days in an already-dire 2021/22 season.

But even if it turned out that McTominay was right in his convictions and that United fought tooth and nail until the very end, that wouldn't take away from the fact that something is very, very wrong at Old Trafford right now.