Manchester Derby: First blood went to Pep, and Manchester bled blue
Welp. Manchester City are good, aren’t they? As a fan of the sport, watching them play was impressive. They worked harder off the ball, barely gave away possession, and every individual players’ class shone through.
As a fan of Manchester United though, it was a disappointing game to watch.
The first half was brutal. When United finally managed to stop chasing and win the ball, it was given away within a matter of a couple of passes. Pogba and Fellaini were largely invisible as Kevin De Bruyne ripped the back 6 to shreds.
Zlatan played lazily, sloppily giving the ball away at every instance instead of holding it up or making a pass. And apparently Jesse Lingard and Henrik Mhkitaryan started this game. I wouldn’t know. They barely touched the ball.
It was a beautiful performance by Pep Guardiola’s team, who earned themselves an early goal in the derby with a long ball and a brilliant piece of skill from De Bryune. The Belgian popped up again shortly after to cause the second goal too, hitting the post for Iheanacho to knock it back in.
It was faultless from City, until Zlatan reminded us why we were all so excited about him in the first place. A mistake by Claudio Bravo from a set piece on his Manchester City debut allowed the Swede to smack a volley into the net with laser precision.
He almost nailed a second from an excellent cross to the back post by Rooney on the verge of halftime, and on another occasion had an open net after Bravo made his second flub.
The tide felt like it might have shifted a little, and 2-1 at the half, the game could’ve gone either way.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United (L) and Josep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City look on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on September 10, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
United came back the stronger of the two teams though, invigorated by the Special One’s halftime talk, and refreshed by the substitution of Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera, the former of which made an immediate impact, bursting down the wing to give United an actual attacking threat.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Ander Herrera of Manchester United in action during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on September 10, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images)
Herrera made his presence felt too, working more doggedly in defence than Pogba and Fellaini did combined all half.
United pressed their momentum hard, and had two very legitimate penalty calls ignored by referee Mark Clattenburg: The first when Claudio Bravo again made a mistake in the area trying to play it with his feet (Joe Hart will be pleased) and recovering it by going studs up into a tackle with Rooney. The second when the ball struck Otamendi’s upper arm in the area.
Manchester United even managed to get the ball in the back of the net after a blistering run from Rashford was finished with a great shot. But it nicked Ibrahimovic’s offside knee before beating Bravo, so was disallowed.
The final twenty minutes were shot for shot, the ball flying from one end to the other. The momentum was definitely with the red corner though, as City battled hard – unconvincingly at times – to keep United out. The game ended as it was at half time, 2-1, with City’s defensive shift proving enough to keep the lead.
United will feel unlucky to not have had a draw, but City’s first half performance earned them a win, and retained their unbeaten record.
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