Manchester City beat United at Old Trafford 0-2 and have painted the city blue until their next game. United never got into their groove and City kept pushing them till the final whistle. City stand 2nd in the league table and are flying high this season so far.
FULL TIME | DERBY DAY DELIGHT! 🙌
🔴 0-2 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/qjLAT02897
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 6, 2021
The stakes are as high they can be as Manchester United hosts the noisy neighbours, City who have been in a topsy turvy form over the course of the last couple of weeks. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been under a lot of fire for United’s inconsistent performance this season and one can say Ole’s job was on the line tonight. They had a poor showing in the Champions League game against Atalanta which turned out in a draw courtesy of Ronaldo’s stoppage-time goal. Their performance against Spurs have lifted the spirits at Old Trafford and a win against Manchester City would just be perfect for the team and the fans with the season well underway. Manchester City lost two-nil against Crystal Palace last week which was a major letdown as they stand 3rd in an extremely tight title race.
62. Just over an hour gone here at Old Trafford…
What’s your verdict on the game so far? 👇
🔴 0-2 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/YHxgbmos78
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 6, 2021
The home fans were left in shock as Baily netted the ball into his own net in the 7th minute of the game. Joao Cancelo delivered a cross from the left flank but was met with Baily’s poor clearance that edged Cit ahead from the get-go. Manchester City got the second goal just before the referee blew the halftime whistle as Luke Shaw failed to clear a cross from Cancelo and Bernardo Silva scored from a simple tap in.
United fans would be fairly disappointed by the Red Devils’ showing but United are known to be at their best in the second half which is why the game was far from over at halftime. United shifted their formation to 4-2-31 but that too ultimately yielded no result for them. City keprtr their shape and pushed United to its limits and the scoreline remain the same at full time.
OLE INDECISIVE
The Reds remain a goal behind after 25 minutes at Old Trafford.
Keep pushing, lads 👊 #MUFC | #MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/3Riq9P7lQ3
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 6, 2021
Manchester United started the game as they did against Spurs with 5 defenders at the back but things didn’t pan out the way they had hoped for. Although they defended decently, a few silly mistakes contest them the game as the contest ended in the first half. Ole changes his formation back to his old style by shifting formation to 4-2-3-1. Playing 4 upfront wasn’t enough for them to ignite their attacking prowess. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seemed confused with his tactics and he was simply shifting players positions and formations to find a way to hack past City.
CITY CONTROLLED THE NARRATIVE
Manchester City had control of the game from start to finish which was pretty much expected ahead of the match. The midfield area is arguably the most crucial part of the field and Manchester United simply couldn’t; shake the dominance of City at the centre of the park/ In the second half, United shifted their formation and were only playing two proper central midfielders which was a poor decision by the manager. Fred and McTominay couldn’t cover the whole area which isolated their defensive and attacking half. United never had the control of the narrative and hence they never looked like making a comeback.
UNITED’S BACKLINE IN SHAMBLES
United were playing in a very negative setup today since they had a defensive formation but they still made horrendous errors at the back which cost them the game. The United defenders flooded their own box but failed to mark the players they were supposed to and let them run free in their final third. United’s backline failed to read City’s passes and plays which lost them the game in the first 45.
