Manchester derby

                                   Manchester United Vs Manchester City

    Image source: mancitycore.com

Build up:

The weekend blockbuster for footballing fans around the world was worth the wait. The Manchester Derby has always been one of the most exciting derbies in the competition. 2 teams from the same city were set to lock horns at the Ethihad. But, in recent times this fixture has always favored the Citizens. The defending champions were set to host the 20-time premier league champions in what everybody expected would be a competitive encounter. Man City have had a good record against their cross-town rivals with 2 wins a row last time 3-1 and 2-0 in both encounters and went on to retain the title. 

The Red Devils have only lost 1 out of their 4 away league games against the Citizens. They have also won only 1 of their last 11 away league games (D4, L6) and are without a clean sheet in their last 12 matches on the road. Fans were waiting for who claim the bragging rights? Is Manchester Red or Is Manchester Blue?

   

    Image source: media referee.com

Match Summary:

The defending champions made one change from the starting 11 that beat Burnley with Otamendi dropped to the bench in favor of Stones. The Red Devils made 2 changes from their win over Spurs with Shaw replacing in favor of Young at left-back and Martial returned from injury to replace Greenwood. The match began with the visitors threatening the weakened City's back 4 in the early stages of the game. This was unexpected as we all expected Pep's side to attack in the early stages of the game, but Ole's men began the match like how they started against Mourinho's men. This was the 1st time against The Red Devils that the defending champions were struggling to hold their backline. The departure of their long-time captain Vincent Kompany and injury of Aymeric Laporte had proved to be a major setback this campaign. The 20-time premier league champions broke the deadlock when they were awarded a penalty after checking VAR and Rashford converted the penalty to give the visitors a brilliant start. United continued to threaten their opponents with their front 3 repeatedly targeting City's weakened backline. The visitors increased their lead after Martial scored and the crowd was stunned. The defending champions eventually did respond after Otamendi scored towards the end but it was the Red Devils who claimed all 3 points in this exciting encounter. 

    

    Image source: olepepfootball365.com

    Talking points from the encounter: 

    Image source: busbybabe.sbnation.com

  

1.United dominance in this encounter:

The visitors began the match with the same momentum against their rivals in a similar fashion when they played against Spurs. It was really surprising to see a team who were losing their grip in the early stages of the campaign, had begun to pile pressure on their neighbors. Everybody expected Guardiola's men to dominate in the early stages of the game. We have seen Pep using his Tiki-Taka philosophy to hold possession and dominate. The Red Devils early chance arrived in the 3rd when Martial received a through-ball from Rashford and passed to James who was free in the right-hand side who eventually hit it well only for the Ederson to clear it away. United got another opportunity in the 15th minute when Martial received a pass from the Welshman and the Frenchman took a touch before shooting low forcing the Brazilian keeper to dive for the save. 

United broke the deadlock when they were awarded a penalty when Bernardo Silva clipped Rashford inside the box and were awarded a penalty after checking VAR and Rashford converted the opportunity to give the visitors a brilliant start. United continued to threaten their opponents with their front 3 repeatedly targeting City's weakened backline. The 20-time premier-league again got an opportunity when Rashford's curling effort hit the cross-bar in the 20th minute. The visitors increased their lead after Martial received a pass from the former Swansea man outside the penalty area and scored from 10 yards which left the crowd stunned. It looked like United were missing the usual spark as they increased their lead in their rival's turf. 

2.City’s crucial chances:

The 2nd half began with City controlling possession and slowly gained momentum after they were stunned by their rivals in the 1st half.  City almost scored a goal in the 56th minute when De Bruyne attempted a powerful shot from 6 yards only for the Swedish center-back to save United. City continued its momentum and intensity throughout the half. The defending champions got another opportunity in the 63rd minute when Rodrigo fired a thunderbolt shot from 18-yards forcing De Gea for a finger-tip save. The citizens eventually scored a constellation goal in the 83rd minute thanks to Nicolas Otamendi from a corner. 

    Image source: unitedinfocus.com

3.Van-Bisaaka presence:

In a team of heroes, one player, in particular, stood out in Manchester United’s historic 2-1 win in the Manchester Derby, right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The young defender produced a commanding performance, preventing City star Raheem Sterling from taking a single shot on target over the 90 minutes and winning United’s official man-of-the-match award ahead of goalscorers and star names such as Marcus Rashforf and Anthony Martial. 

Nicknamed 'The Spider' due to his length and range of his legs, the former Eagles player of the year amassed 100% of his tackles made 7 clearances out of a possible 7, blocked 3 shots, delivered 4 crosses and made 2 interceptions in a performance that has been hailed on social media as one of the best in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. His addition to the squad means that Diogo Dalot will be limited to first-team opportunities. Have the Red Devils found the next 'Gary Neville'?

    Image source: sportskeeda.com

Post-match thoughts: 

City slumped to their 4th defeat of the campaign at the hands of the resilient Man United. Nobody ever thought of this result as the Citizens were considered the favorites to win this encounter. Honestly, even I thought that Pep would claim the bragging rights in this match. This was Pep's worst points return after the first 16 matches of a top-flight season in his managerial career. Citizens are miles behind the Reds after this defeat. 

The defeat meant that the Citizens were 14 points behind the Reds and United continue their impressive winning streak of 2 games in a row. It looks like the former Catalan's boss has a long way to catch Klopp's men. Now, has the dream ended for Guardiola to achieve a title hattrick? The other question is 'Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer the right man to guide Manchester United to their glory days'?

Author,

Zaid