The match report:
Full-time: City 0-0 United
In the end, it was a derby befitting the campaigns of these two teams, remarkable for its shortcomings rather than anything positive. Oh, and there was a predictably gormless sending off for Marouane Fellaini. A couple of weeks ago Fellaini was Manchester United’s captain. Now there must be serious doubts about whether he’ll play a league game for the club again.
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90+6 min: Corner for City. Come on Cabellero, carpe diem ...
90+5 min: De Bruyne drops a brilliant cross from the left on to the foot of Aguero at the back post. But the striker, off-balance, can’t direct it on goal!
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90+3 min: “Not that I’m defending the actions of the Big Oaf, but Fellaini got a card for the tackle, so what’s Aguero doing squaring off?” demands Ryan Maloney. “He goaded Fellaini into that card.” Yes, you’ve answered your own question there, Ryan. Fellaini fell for the oldest, most obvious trick in the book. And who amongst us can say we’re surprised?
United substitution: Young on, Rashford off.
90+1 min: Joy unconfined as Jesus turns a cross by Aguero into the net! But then everyone realises that the flag was up for offside. Joy suddenly confined, then killed.
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90 min: There will be at least six more minutes...
88 min: Tempers are fraying now, and no mistake. Jesus charges in late on Rashford. It’s not clear that he made any contact but everyone rushes over for some ever so manly pushing and shoving, until the ref totters over to break it up by showing Jesus a yellow card.
86 min: Now that they’re down to 10 men, United will probably play for the draw. What? Oh yeah.
City substitution: Jesus on, Sterling off.
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RED CARD FOR FELLAINI!
He was booked for an oafish tackle from behind on Aguero. And then he was shown a straight red for thrusting his head into Aguero as the Argentinian squared up to him! That, ladies and gentleman, is the behaviour of a galoot.
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81 min: United venture into City territory. They win a series of throw-ins. That’ll do for them.
City substitutions: Caballero and Navas on, Bravo and Sane off.
United substitution: Lingard on, Martial off.
75 min: Bravo, redundant for most of this half, leaps to catch a cross. In doing so he appears to have injured himself, seemingly straining a calf. Cabellero will replace him.
73 min: City pass and pass and pass and pass on the periphery of United’s box. Throughout that sequence they had one player (Aguero) in the area, whereas United had seven. The end moved with De Bruyne resorting to a shot from 25 yards. It went wide. It’s Gabriel Jesus time, I fancy.
69 min: “With all this constant pressure by City, it’s only a matter of time before United win 0-1,” frets Paul Fitzgerald. With the winner coming when Fellaini profits from a Bravo goof?
67 min: Another bout of prolonged City probing and resolute United defending ends with the hosts winning a corner. It’s floated over to the back post, where Otamendi arrives at speed and gets a firm nut to it from eight yards out. But the shot comes off the back off Bailly’s head and goes over the bar, for another corner.
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65 min: Zabaleta fizzes a pass out wide to Sterling, who curls a cross towards the back post. It’s beyond the only City player in the box, Sane.
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63 min: The United bus remains clamped in front of their goal.
61 min: A mis-hit attempted clearance by Valencia falls to Aguero, who shoots first time from 20 yards. High and wide again. His long-range shooting has been quite wayward so far .
60 min: The sight of Gabriel Jesus warming up brings a burst of song from the fans in blue.
58 min: De Bruyne cuts in from the left and bangs a low shot towards goal from the edge of the area. It’s deflected out for a corner.
57 min: Herrera tries to chip the ball up to himself in his own box so that he can punt it clear. But Sané nips in and robs him. Then the winger goes down under a challenge from Martial. City fans demand a penalty, but referee Martin Atkinson is having none of it.
55 min: Freekick to City near the right-hand corner flag. A fortunate decision, as Martial didn’t seem to foul Sterling. De Bruyne swings it in. Fellaini heads it out. Sané has a pop from the corner of the box but there are too many bodies in the way and De Gea is not required to make a save.
53 min: United continue to defend en masse. City still can’t pick a way through.
51 min: Herrera winds up a 20-yard shot but Otamendi hurls himself in front of it, making a tremendous block.
49 min: Aguero skips past two defenders but, through strength of numbers, is forced across the rim of the United box. He manages to get off a shot but it’s in the Sterling class.
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48 min: De Bruyne wins the ball in midfield and nudges it through to Sterling, who begins scampering forward. United backpedal so Sterling keeps going, all the way into the box. But then he finishes with a typically tame shot - a trademark trickler - and De Gea picks it up before we get to find out whether it would have even reached the goal.
46 min: No personnel changes were made during the break. Off we go again, then...
Half-time: City 0-0 United
Mourinho will be the happier manager. United have mostly kept City at arm’s length and have occasionally looked dangerous on the counter-attack thanks to the speed of Martial and Rashford. Mourinho’s pre-match plan probably also involved waiting for City’s defence to switch off and give the visitors a chance and that duly happened just before half-time, but Herrera failed to take advantage. City might not get away with that next time. Mourinho, then, will be confident that a 1-0 away win is still on.
45 min: What a chance! Rashford sprays a freekick from the left over to the back post, where Herrera is totally and inexplicably free! But he heads wide from six yards!
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43 min: Those slight openings in United’s defence that City had started to create have been closed off. United have tightened up again and City are at a loss for what to do.
41 min: Herrera and Toure battle for possession in midfield, the Spaniard doing his utmost to shield the ball from his opponent. Fernandinho runs over to make it two-on-one. Limbs are a-flailing. Toure’s arm inadvertently catches Herrera in the head. Herrera turns around and angrily confronts Fernandinho. He’s getting his strop on with the wrong man! Or perhaps the right man, when you consider the size of Toure.
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39 min: Otamendi does well to keep track of Rashford before making a smart tackle to end a counter-attack by United.
38 min: City are really starting to stretch United. Their fans scent blood and are loudly exhorting their team to go in for the kill. It’s a decent atmosphere!
36 min: Kolarov plays a one-two with De Bruyne and then lets fly with a low shot from 20 yards. De Gea pushes it out for a corner, with some difficulty.
34 min: De Bruyne pings a low pass into Fernandinho, who lays it back firs time to Sterling, who fires it in to Aguero. The Argentinian turns brilliantly at the edge of the area, causing Bailly and Blind to slip as they try to do likewise. But a potentially wonderful goal is thwarted when Aguero bangs his shot high and wide.
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32 min: Aguero tries another blast from distance and this time he forces a good save from De Gea, who dives to his left to make a clean catch.
30 min: Aguero drops deep to receive a pass near the half-way line. Then he turn and skitters towards the United box. He has options to either side of him. But he decides to take on a the shot himself - and blasts it straight into Fellaini’s midriff.
28 min: More passing around the box from City. Then Kolarov sends over a dangerous cross. Bailly clears. City come back again. De Bruyne pings over a delicious cross that Aguero tries to meet at the back post, going agonisingly close to a connection.
25 min: Martial, a constant menace down the right, speeds past two players and into the area. He sends a looping cross towards the back post, unaware that no one is waiting for it there. Apparently Bravo is also unaware of that, as he makes a panicky intervention and turns an innocuous cross into a very dangerous situation, clawing the ball into the path of several players. Mkhitaryan is first to it and opens fire. Bravo redeems himself with a solid save.
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24 min: Two excellent Ivorian contributions there: first Toure did brilliantly to win possession in midfield and offload to Sane, who skedaddled into the United box before his run was curtailed at the last by a well-timed sliding tackle from Bailly.
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22 min: City pass and pass on the outskirts of the United box. But they can’t find a way through. Eventually, De Bruyne tries a direct route. His curled shot from 20 yards sails into the arms of De Gea.
20 min: Rashford sprints down the right to collect a pass that seemed too long. He wins a corner, which he takes himself. But his lame delivery is headed away at the near post.
17 min: De Bruyne produces a splendid delivery from a freekick wide on the right. He sends the ball across the face of goal, inviting a team-mate to get on the end of it and help themselves to a goal. But, oddly, no City player had anticipated such a delivery so was in no position to accept the invitation.
15 min: As expected, City are dominating possession and probing at a high-tempo, but United’s intention to counter quickly as soon as they regain the ball is very clear. It’s absorbing, frantic stuff so far. “I think it’s time we all sit down with Sky Sports and tell them, firmly but calmly, that we don’t care how much their wire camera cost, it’s ruining corners for everyone,” parps David Flynn.
13 min: Otamendi, worried about the prospect of Rashford turning and chasing a ball over the top, slyly takes out the striker. He, too, is lucky to avoid a booking.
11 min: Another meaty tackle! This time it was by Fernandinho - and definitely not fair. He’s lucky to avoid a booking for the way he took down Mhikitaryan.
9 min: After some uncertain defending by United - including a fluffed header by Bailly - De Bruyne collects the ball near the right-hand corner flag. He spins quickly and fires in an excellent low cross. Aguero, as ever, is sharper than any defender and darts forward to meet the cross at the near post - and darn near scores! His shot hits the base of the post and goes wide!
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7 min: Martial hares past Fernandinho down the left and then skins Zabaleta, too. He slips a nice pass through to Rashford, who, alas, is offside.
6 min: Another encouraging sign: there have been several meaty but fair tackle already and the ref has allowed them.
4 min: United are trying to press and harass City like they did to Chelsea a few weeks back. But City seem to be getting to grips with it thanks to their ability to pass with precision and speed. The contest is shaping up nicely.
2 min: Snappy start by United! They showed their speed - in terms both of passing and running - to launch a dangerous attack that concluded with Rashford dashing past Kolarov and laying the ball back for Herrera, who floated a dinky cross to the back post. Zabaleta had to stretch to turn it behind.
1 min: We have kickoff.
The teams are in the tunnel. City are in blue, United are in red, all is right with the world.
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“What are you doing bro?” storms Fair Maryea. “Are you really Paul Pogba?” Um, no. What are you doing bro?
“You have the right arguments there, but the wrong way around when it comes to Conte,” interjects Paul Ewart. “Conte came in with a clear idea of how he wanted to play, didn’t impose it on the players, realised that his way was better, but let the players work that out themselves, and they adapted to his methods.”
We’ve been focusing on the threat of United’s speedster but we must also mention another man who could pose plenty of trouble to City’s defence: Claudio Bravo Marouane Fellaini. He’s going to score, isn’t he? Or get sent off.
Guardiola speaks!
Evidently he is well aware of United’s main threat: “They are so fast in front, they are going to attack right in behind. They are a tough team.” Asked what is the best way to stop United’s counter-attacks, he replies: “To be in the right place when we lose the ball.”
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“Couldn’t agree more with your reply to Craig Thomas,” booms Tim Penney. “Same goes for Mourinho. Both managers have great teams and got to make huge transfers. Both should have been competing for the title and seem to have gotten simple tactics wrong resulting in a fight for the Champions League next season. Look at Conte, he comes in with a team he’s never played with, and is leading the league and in the FA Cup final.” Yes, Conte was absolutely not dogmatic: he arrived with a clear idea of how he wanted to play but quickly realised it wasn’t working so he adapted and came up with a new, successful plan. That’s good management.
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Here’s an omen you might like to consider: only one of the previous 173 Manchester derbies took place on April 27. That was in 1974. You might have heard tell about that game: City won 1-0 ... and United were relegated along with Norwich and Southampton. Leeds United were champions.
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“Typical media moaning about Pep,” snarls Craig Thomas. “This is a season of transition and the players are still getting used to his tactics. When they’ve mastered what he wants, City will be unstoppable.” Nah, that’s mostly garbage, Craig. City have been very fine at times this season but when they have floundered it has had less to do with the players being insufficiently attuned to Pep’s philosophy, more with Pep’s failure to take due account of the abilities both of his players and of his opponents. He has been too dogmatic. For a coach to continually ask players to play a way that they are not capable of playing is bad management, plain and simple. And on several occasions this season, such as at Leicester and Monaco, Pep’s use of an approach that played straight into the hands of the opposition seemed bizarrely naïve or negligent. He’s a very welcome addition to the Premier League but he needs to improve to be successful in it.
Mourinho speaks!
Talking to Sky just now, he has basically confirmed that his plan is to absorb City’s pressure and try to strike on the counter. “I expect them to have [a lot of possession] because that’s the way they normally play but we also want the ball because that’s also how we normally play. But honestly I think they’re going to have more of the ball than us because that’s the way they play.”
He also said: “I don’t deny that the Europa League is our main target but we have to forget about it tonight.”
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TEAMS:
Well looky here, Guardiola has decided to deploy actual full-backs! Having said that, we cant rule out the possibility that Zabaleta, who is making his first league start for three months, will be used as a free-roaming playmaker. Zabaleta is obviously a better defender than Navas but, on the flip side, he’s also much slower than the Spaniard so could be more vulnerable to counter-attacks led by any of United’s rapid front three, Martial, Rashford and Mkhitaryan.
United’s bench, you’ll note, includes the 19-year-old centreback Axel Tuanzebe. City have Gabriel Jesus back.
City: Bravo; Zabaleta, Kompany, Otamendi, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Touré; Sterling, De Bruyne, Sané; Aguero
Subs: Cabellero, Sagna. Fernando, Navas, Gabriel Jesus, Garcia
United: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Darmian; Herrera, Carrick, Fellaini; Martial, Rashford, Mkhitaryan
Subs: Romero, Shaw, Fosu-Mensah. Tuanzebe, Young, Lingard, Rooney
Preamble
Hello. This Manchester derby is not what most people imagined it would be and, in a way, it is all the more intriguing for that. Back in August most folks thought that City and United would joust majestically for the Premier League title but instead here they are, squabbling over the right to crawl into next season’s Champions League. It’s an unsettling experience for Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho but victory today would at least offset some embarrassment for one of them. So which one, if any, will it be?
Guardiola needs it more, wouldn’t you agree? Mourinho has already bagged the League Cup and could still add the Europa League, which, of course, comes with the significant bonus of an alternative route into the Champions League. Even if United’s standing in the Premier League table were to remain lowly, two trophies and a ticket back into the European big time would amount to a decent return from Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford, especially in the light of ongoing injury woes. Guardiola, on the other hand, is certain to end the season without a trophy for the first time in his managerial career. If even a top four finish were to elude him, well, that would be a spectacular failure even though City have also had rotten luck with injuries. But if City were to give their neighbours a good spanking here and go on to finish in the top four, then much glee could be taken from today and a small measure of satisfaction could be extracted from the season as a whole. Actually, the style with which City have played on occasion can also be considered as a source of satisfaction, as well as a sign of progress. Thing is, of course, that style has regularly been undermined by ludicrous defending.
So how do you reckon things will pan out today? The lineups will give us a strong clue to how each manager intends approaching the game. Then again, we already know Guardiola is going to go gungho. But how many risks will Mourinho be prepared to take in trying to exploit City’s cavalier defence? That, and other teasers, are what we are gathered here to find out. It, to quote the great Scott Murray, is on.
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