Manchester United's humiliation of their noisy neighbours City at Old Trafford led the club's official website to claim the city was turned red once more in the space of 90 minutes. Yet was this the case? Was that 4-2 win a sign that United are the dominant force in Manchester again, or should we just chalk it off as nothing more than a bad game for the defending champions? City had, after all, beaten United four consecutive times going into the derby, so should the red half of Manchester be so confident sitting four points ahead? Here is Sportsmail's verdict on the issues. Is Manchester red again? Of course not, it is neither red or blue. United’s website declared this to be the case and they will rightly revel in Sunday’s victory for a while. What perhaps best sums up City’s current plight, meanwhile, is that they have been dragged back in to this parochial little squabble at all. Manuel Pellegrini and his players began this season with aspirations of defending their Barclays Premier League title and making an impact on the Champions League. Manchester United's players celebrate together during the derby win for the red half of the city . Juan Mata salutes the Old Trafford crowd while Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney celebrate his goal . With United setting their own sights no higher than a return to the top four, the club from the other side of town were the least of their worries. Yet here we are in April with City already being lapped by league leaders Chelsea and United now easing away from them in third. It’s a remarkable state of affairs even if a look at the fixture list does offer City some semblance of hope. United’s next two games are at Chelsea and Everton, and they still have a home fixture with Arsenal and a visit to Crystal Palace to follow. City, on the other hand, have four home games you would expect them to win and away matches at Spurs and Swansea. Can City take maximum points between now and the end of the season? In theory they could but that would take some doing from a team that looks to be on the floor. At the Etihad they spoke of ‘trajectory’ the day they hustled Mark Hughes out of the door in 2009 and it is a word that neatly works to sum up the differences between red and blue. Apr 18 - Chelsea (a) Apr 26 - Everton (a) May 2 - West Brom (h) May 9 - Crystal Palace (a) May 17 - Arsenal (h) May 24 - Hull City (a) Apr 19 - West Ham (h) Apr 25 - Aston Villa (h) May 3 - Tottenham Hotspur (a) May 10 - QPR (h) May 17 - Swansea City (a) May 24 - Southampton (h) United won the battle against City but the war is still ongoing with six Premier League games remaining . United manager Louis van Gaal thanked supporters for their patience after Sunday's victory . Why do United suddenly look like a good team again? Their manager Louis van Gaal has not been too proud to learn from his mistakes. He was the only person in Manchester, for example, who thought that Wayne Rooney was a central midfielder and Ander Herrera a substitute. Eventually he recognised his folly and United have improved. Van Gaal has also had the courage to pick players on form not reputation. This is why we now see Radamel Falcao on the bench, Daley Blind playing ahead of the expensive Luke Shaw – regardless of Shaw’s recent injury – and Juan Mata ahead of Angel di Maria. At times, Van Gaal’s hand has been forced by injuries but his faith in players such as Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia – players whose Old Trafford career looked over during pre-season – has its roots in what he has seen on the training field. In many ways, this United team now resembles his Dutch team of the World Cup. It seems to lack depth and real quality but still it manages to get the job done. Mata runs away in celebration after scoring one of United's four goals against their great rivals City . Rooney, Young and Mata celebrate as they all rightfully earn their first-team places for United . Angel di Maria (third right) and Radamel Falcao (right) were left out of the starting XI by Van Gaal on Sunday . What has been the secret behind the renaissance of players like Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini? Van Gaal is a coach’s coach who believes in the value of the training ground. A man who swears by systems and training ground drills, the United manager has followed a mantra of ‘repeat, repeat, repeat’ ever since he arrived in Manchester and, at last, it has paid off. In his early days at the club some of the United players worried that their new manager’s love of endless passing drills would eventually bore them to death. Some even thought they were contributing to the squad’s spate of muscle injuries. Over time, however, Van Gaal’s belief in the value of repetition has worked and players like Young, Fellaini and indeed central defender Chris Smalling have particularly benefited. United do not play predictable football but it is a game hung very firmly to a structure. That is one of the reasons why, for example, a back four without a single stellar player has conceded fewer goals than everybody bar Chelsea and Southampton this season. Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring in this brilliant photograph taken by Sportsmail snapper Ian Hodgson . Young celebrates after bringing United level having earlier trailed against City from the eighth minute . Players once moaned about, such as Fellaini and Young, are now pivotal parts of United's team . Van Gaal’s belief in the value of repetition has worked and players like Young and Fellaini have benefited . Didn't Louis van Gaal consider selling Fellaini last summer? Yes, he did. Oddly, it was only an injury that prevented the Belgian joining Napoli in loan last August but again Van Gaal’s treatment of Fellaini has illustrated the value of flexibility and objectivity when it comes to managing players and teams. Van Gaal certainly has an ego but it isn’t allowed to get in the way of decision making. He began the season convinced that 3-4-1-2 was the way forward for this United team and certainly there would have been no room for Fellaini in that system. But time – not to mention performances – persuaded Van Gaal that there was greater value in other methods. At City, Pellegrini has been rather more stubborn. Over the course of the season the South American has refused to recognise the problems of using Yaya Toure as part of a central midfield pair and indeed the fact that his favoured 4-4-2 system can lead to his side being overrun in the middle of the field against really good teams. Fellaini helped as United tore City apart at Old Trafford to move four points clear of their noisy neighbours . Fellaini has illustrated the value of flexibility and objectivity when it comes to managing players and teams . It was only an injury that prevented Fellaini from joining Napoli in loan last August from United . Should Manuel Pellegrini be worried about his position at City? 5 - Games lost by City in 2015, one more than the whole of 2014. 13 - City's position in the Premier League form table after losing four and winning two of their last six. 4 - The first time since losing 4-3 to United in 2009 that City have conceded four in the league. 9 - City have nine points fewer than they did at this stage last season. 70.8 - City's pass completion rate percentage at Old Trafford was their worst of the season. Yes, he should. As has been reported here before, City do not wish to sack their manager and it is still highly possible they may not. However, footballers’ body language can undo a manager almost as quickly as results and, from that point of view, the signs were bad for Pellegrini at Old Trafford. For all United’s improvement, they are not a side that should be putting four past the champions but this was a City team seemingly unwilling to run, chase and do the ugly stuff on Sunday and the club’s hierarchy have noticed. It remains fashionable to blame players such as Toure for City’s failings and it seems inevitable the Ivorian will leave this summer. However, when players like David Silva, Pablo Zabaleta and James Milner start to disappear from the battle then you know you have a problem. There was a time when Pellegrini’s level approach to life was viewed as one of his assets but at the moment there are those at City who are beginning to wonder when the Chilean is going impose himself on a dressing room that has sleep walked its way towards calamity in recent weeks. Manuel Pellegrini could be worried about his position at City after losing against their fierce rivals . Segio Aguero, Yaya Toure and James Milner look dejected as they await kick-off after a United goal . Frank Lampard applauds the travelling fans off at Old Trafford as he and goalkeeper Joe Hart leave the pitch . What does the summer hold for both clubs? United will spend heavily on key positions such as central defence and centre forward and also buy a right back. The future, meanwhile, does not look bright for players such as Falcao and Adnan Januzaj. City will also be back in the market, with executives confident that increased revenue from commercial activity and sponsorship will allow them to operate within the constraints of Financial Fair Play and still spend on players such as Paul Pogba from Juventus. Van Gaal’s insistence on a reduced pre-season tour will see travelling kept within reason and it would appear the Dutch coach has won a key battle with the club there. Pellegrini, meanwhile, may wish he had put his own foot down in that area. City will visit Canada, New York and one other venue on a post-season trip – though there will be no actual game in NYC – while a pre-season venture to Australia and Indonesia looks set to total somewhere in the region of 21 days. In this area, the two men are different. Van Gaal – not without his own flaws – has developed in to a manager of his football club in a way, for example, that David Moyes never did. Pellegrini, for his part, remains a head coach. Falcao came on as a second-half substitute for Fellaini at Old Trafford against City . Van Gaal shakes hands with his opposite number Pellegrini after the final whistle at Old Trafford .
Manchester United beat their rivals City 4-2 at Old Trafford on Sunday .
It led to supporters claiming Manchester had been turned red once more .
United had lost their four previous derbies against their great rivals City .
Louis van Gaal appears to have turned United's fortunes round this year .
Sportsmail's Ian Ladyman examines the issues after the fierce derby .
READ: Five things Van Gaal has done to transform  results at Man Utd .