City ripped through United to claim a comfortable Manchester Derby victory
In the end, there were no surprises.
Manchester City, we were reminded on Sunday afternoon, are the superior team in Manchester these days, turning in a performance which – for the second time this season – spelled out the gulf in class between the two sides.
There had been talk before the game that this might prove to be a pivotal afternoon in the title race. Liverpool’s impressive run of results, coupled with City’s blip against Tottenham last month, meant a United win would have handed the advantage to Jurgen Klopp’s side. By full-time, it seemed foolish that this had ever been considered a realistic possibility. City strolled to a 4-1 win, completely dominating their neighbours in the second half.
And yet, strangely, United had shown enough before half-time to suggest they might be capable of getting something from the game.
The recent history of this fixture – along with the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo – hinted that they would sit deep and deploy the same counter-attacking play that served Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s teams so well at the Etihad in the not-too-distant past. This, though, was not the case in the early moments, with Ralf Rangnick’s team showing plenty of intent to push forward and take the game to their hosts.
Typically, they didn’t help themselves. That same shoddiness at the back which has blighted their entire season was evident as Kevin De Bruyne scored the opener inside six minutes. Some sharp interplay between Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva on the City left saw the duo work the ball into space between three leaden-footed United defenders. With Alex Telles equally slow to react in the middle, De Bruyne slotted a first-time finish beyond David De Gea when a low cross arrived at his feet.
United did not wilt, at least not at that point. Still, even after conceding the early goal, they played a higher-than-expected line, continuing to move forward with purpose. Their bravery was rewarded when Jadon Sancho finished a slick move after 20 minutes to draw them level.
Their joy was short-lived. City, continuing to probe and press on United’s right, quickly re-established their lead. Anthony Elanga’s failure to loft the ball over the head of Joao Cancelo resulted in Phil Foden bursting into the area. His shot was saved by De Gea and the follow-up by Bernardo Silva was blocked, but the ball ricocheted fortuitously for De Bruyne, who applied the finish.
Despite trailing at the break, United had given themselves a platform for the second half. Instead of building on it, it collapsed and they fell through it, their performance markedly dropping off.
Instantly, City called the tune after the break. United – as they did for most of their game against Atletico Madrid last month – struggled to cope with their tempo with the ball and aggression and desire to win it back when they lost it. City squandered a host of chances before their dominance eventually paid off. De Bruyne floated a corner to the edge of the area where it was met by Riyad Mahrez, his half-volley skimmed off Harry Maguire and beyond De Gea.
United had responded well to earlier setbacks in the game, but offered nothing this time. Paul Pogba, whose influence was virtually nonexistent in the second half, was withdrawn for Jesse Lingard. Elanga made way for Marcus Rashford. Neither change worked, with United registering 0.00xG for the entire second half.
More chances went awry for the home side before Mahrez – this time with the help of VAR – scored a fourth to complete the humiliation in stoppage time.
City’s bid to retain their league title will have been boosted not only by the result by by the manner of their performance. For United it was a potentially terminal blow to their top four aspirations, and another painful reminder of how far they have fallen behind their neighbours in the drift of the post-Ferguson years.
Rangnick will likely not be at the helm of United for the next Manchester Derby, but this was a defeat which highlights the scale of the task facing whoever is chosen to replace him in the summer.
Related links:
- Roy Keane slams ‘shameful’ Man Utd for ‘giving up’ against Man City
- Rangnick confirms Cavani ruled himself out of selection for Manchester derby
- Conor McGregor confirms he’s serious about Chelsea as Abramovich departs
