And with that, an excellent, tense and dramatic derby concludes. City missed Kevin de Bruyne badly and were well below their best, looking like a team that would happily give up on this season’s league campaign right now given half a chance. United were a little overdefensive in the second half, and adopted a worrying strikerless formation for a while, but they were excellent in the first half, competitive throughout, and looked like a team that boasts potential, unity, commitment and decent coaching, none of which are things that they have been widely associated with them of late. And what’s more, it was another excellent result for Liverpool. Here’s the match report again. Bye!
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t take credit for United’s opening goal, saying that Martial and Fernandes “have hit it off” and that he’s “seen them do it before”, but not suggesting that he played any part in their free-kick routine. Also, he says Fred should have had a penalty in the first half, and he also says this generally very happy stuff:
The desire, attitude, commitment. The connection between fans and players and the team. What a day they’ve had today, both the players and the fans. Of course they made us defend, that’s the type of players they are, but if our fans can see players with attitude and commitment and desire, then we’ve done our job as coaches today. I think we at times pressed them and pushed them back, we tried to be aggressive with the full-backs, so when we hit the press I think we made them make mistakes. I can’t put my finger on anything [negative], but at times you’d like to defend with the ball in the team sometimes, but I’m not going to complain.
It’s a privilege to be a manager of a squad and players with this attitude. They give us absolutely everything they’ve got every time they play and you can’t ask for more. We’re going to improve, they’re going to improve as players. There’s two or three times today, head up and we score a goal. There’s twice Dan James could square it, once for Bruno, once for Anthony, Anthony could square it for Bruno. Those little things, they’ll come.
Well of course it’s a derby, the fans love it, the players love it. For our players to beat the team that’s Man City, with the problems that we’ve had as well, it’s fantastic. I’m just delighted for them. We played against an absolute top, top team. Of course we had to defend and they had possession, but we’re delighted with the outcome.
Bernardo Silva disagrees with his manager:
It was a bad game for us. In my opinion not acceptable. But yeah, a very bad day. We didn’t start very bad the game, I think we were playing quite well until we conceded the goal. But we know how United play, how good they are on the counter-attack, how aggressive they are defensively, and as I said, not a good performance and not acceptable from us.
We have to watch the game, we have to listen to what Pep has to see. Now it’s too close to see what lacked. But a team like ours cannot lose this many games in the Premier League as we have this season. We have to check what’s not going right and then try not to make so many mistakes.
Pep Guardiola has a chat. His takehome message is that “we played so good”:
Good game. We played good. We miss a little bit, especially in the first half, when we arrived in positions to be a little bit more aggressive. We conceded a goal, we should avoid it. Second half was good, and congratulations United. We were a little bit more aggressive in the second half, but in terms of the way we play we played good in both halves.
Ederson saved one or two. He’s an exceptional keeper. I’m not here to judge my players for making mistakes. It’s part of the game, he will recover and he’s an exceptional goalkeeper.
Here’s Jamie Jackson’s match report:
Manchester United have a first league double for a decade over Manchester City in a further sign that the faith shown by the board in Ole Gunnar Solskjær is being repaid.
United made their crosstown rivals appear the tamest City side brought here during Pep Guardiola’s four years in charge. United were simply far more dangerous than a strangely toothless opponent and were deserving victors in this 182nd derby that ended in the kind of jubilant scenes not witnessed at Old Trafford for a while. The three points keep United in fifth, and firmly in the hunt for a Champions League berth, while making it 10 matches unbeaten. City, though, will be dethroned as champions and Liverpool crowned before the Merseysiders play again if Guardiola’s side lose their next two matches: against Arsenal and Burnley.
Much more here:
On that second United goal, I’m not sure how McTominay managed to cover so much ground to reach the ball before Mendy, who had half the distance to cover and can’t exactly claim tiredness, both players having come on with 13 minutes to go. Here’s McTominay’s post-match reaction. He does speak remarkably quickly, so I haven’t quite caught everything:
That was such a sweet moment. Credit to the boys they were top drawer today. They had a sticky first 15-20 minutes, but you can see how much it means to the boys to win the derby again, that’s three times this year. I read the goalkeeper, and you give yourself half a chance because they’re rushing. It’s such a beautiful feeling in front of our fans. These games, your Liverpools, your Arsenals, your Man Citys, they’re special. You can see with the run of games we’ve been on, with my injury I was desperate to get back because I could see the progression of the team. We’ve won a game today, fantastic, but it’s the next one, and the next one.
City play Arsenal at home on Wednesday and Burnley at home on Saturday. Assuming they win both of those Liverpool still need two victories to seal the title, and if they win the derby would wrap it up with success against Crystal Palace in less than a fortnight, which depending on virus progression might be before a Premier League stadium fan ban.
There were two sides to this United performance: threat and endeavour in the first half, determination in the second. City had 72% of possession but they created few clear chances, and United had more goalscoring threat and six shots on target to their four. For all that, Ederson was at fault for both goals.
Final score: Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City
90+8 mins: It’s all over!
Updated
90+7 mins: Fred’s overhit pass runs through to Ederson, who picks it up on the right-hand corner of the area and bowls it out. McTominay runs 40 yards to reach the first, and passes it into a still-empty net!
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City (McTominay, 90+7 mins)
An absolute howler from Ederson, and a 50-yarder from McTominay!
Updated
90+6 mins: United hack the ball clear. Probably another minute to go.
90+5 mins: It looks like Jesus has just been booked for grumpiness, as the clock ticked with Matic grounded.
90+4 mins: McTominay is down and feeling an ankle, while not two yards away Matic is down and struggling with cramp.
90+3 mins: Ighalo’s hold-up play has improved United immeasurably. He keeps the ball for a while on the halfway line, ghosting past a couple of opponents and earning delighted Olé’s from the crowd.
90+3 mins: James leads a break, but delays his pass infield to Fred long enough for Otamendi to turn up and dispossess him.
90+1 mins: There will be five minutes of stoppage time, or thereabouts.
90 mins: This time Cancelo’s cross runs to Sterling, just outside the area, but his shot is poor, and bounces feebly through to De Gea.
89 mins: Mendy’s overhit cross goes out of play. They don’t seem to be offering much except crosses, and often not very good ones.
88 mins: Bruno Fernandes is going off, and Ighalo coming on. “Fernandes is an intelligent player who obviously elevates Man U. What I’m having trouble sussing out is if he’s really excellent or if United have just been middling in tactics and inspiration for so long that anyone looks an improvement,” says Ray. I think he’s an excellent player: clearly extremely fit, but he makes good runs and good decisions, stretching defences and offering options.
87 mins: Cancelo’s overhit cross goes out of play, and United’s defence remains unbreached. Ighalo is going to come on for the last few minutes.
84 mins: Jesus bursts into the box, and Wan-Bissaka and Maguire both attempt sliding tackles. The former succeeds, the latter just steamrollers both Jesus and Wan-Bissaka and really should have stayed on his feet. Anyway, and just about, corner.
Updated
82 mins: James gets the ball, and attempts a solo break. Fernandes tries to offer him an option, but his run is covered and James just has to struggle on alone. He does so manfully before eventually spying a route to Fernandes and passing, only for the offside flag to go up.
80 mins: In the last 10 minutes, City have had 86% of possession. I’m not sure this front-none formation is going to work out for United.
79 mins: United now have James on his own in attack. In other words, they have abandoned all thoughts of attacking.
77 mins: United make two substitutions, bringing Eric Bailly and Scott McTominay on while Williams and Martial trudge off. City meanwhile make their final change, bringing Benjamin Mendy on for Zinchenko.
75 mins: What a miss! Mahrez crosses low from the right and Sterling runs onto it in the middle. It looks like a tap-in, but somehow he taps well wide! So wide in fact that Jesus keeps it in, turns back, executes a number of ostentatious stepovers and then slams in a low shot that De Gea saves!
Updated
73 mins: Luke Shaw is on the floor. The physio rushes on, but swiftly gives the bench a thumbs up and doesn’t seem to be administering anything more significant than a drink.
71 mins: United’s wide players essentially need to realise that after they burst into the box Bruno Fernandes is always perfectly placed infield, and stop having optimistic shots from unpromising angles.
70 mins: United nearly score on the break! Wan-Bissaka plays the ball down the right, and James takes on Otamendi, goes past him easily, but then doesn’t see the easy pass infield to Bruno Fernandes and instead blasts a shot towards the near post, which Ederson saves.
Updated
69 mins: Mahrez takes on Williams, beats him twice and then sends the ball across the United goal, where nobody is on hand to turn it in.
66 mins: For the first time, United are under sustained pressure - and they are starting to creak. City win another corner, though they seemed to actively avoid attempting to score with it, passing it back 50 yards, playing it from left to right and then giving it away.
63 mins: Then City go down the other end, and Foden, who has moved infield following Mahrez’s introduction, shoots high from 22 yards or so.
63 mins: City are pushing forward much more now, which of course gives United opportunities to break. They pass out to James, who roars down the right and crosses, too high for Martial.
61 mins: City have another corner, this time from the left. Gundogan crosses, and Otamendi heads over the bar from the corner of the six-yard box.
59 mins: A double substitution for City, who take off Aguero and Bernado Silva and bring on Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez.
58 mins: Williams goes past Cancelo, just outside his own penalty area, with almost insulting ease, and is brought down in retribution. Cancelo is booked.
55 mins: Foden wins a corner on the right. It’s taken short and eventually worked to Foden, now central, whose 25-yard left-footer is tipped ovrer the bar by De Gea.
Updated
51 mins: Back to that offside decision, and it was wafer-thin. De Gea made not attempt to save the shot, and would have looked exceedingly foolish had Aguero’s left shoulder turned out to be an inch or two further back when Sterling prodded the ball through.
50 mins: If Martial had been as desperate to get to that ball as Ederson was, he would surely have scored. He didn’t fling out his leg, though, and that gave Ederson a chance to recover.
49 mins: Ederson nearly hands United a goal! He takes a terrible touch when controlling a back-pass, and it looks like Martial will prod the loose ball over the line, but the Brazilian slides across to clear. Martial however does end up in the net, via the post, and is hurt.
Updated
48 mins: VAR is certainly having a good look at this. It looks like Shaw might have been playing Aguero onside there.
48 mins: Aguero is played in by Sterling and thumps the ball into the net, but the offside flag is raised.
Updated
46 mins: Peeeeeep! City get the second half started.
The players are back out and ready to rock. No changes that I can see.
Keane and Richards also think it should have been a penalty, the latter unenthusiastically. “The turnaround time by VAR for the penalty shout was alarmingly quick,” says Stephen Carr. “They haven’t looked at it properly. When you consider the decision re Bournemouth’s goal yesterday you could be forgiven for thinking VAR is getting quietly sidelined.”
“Lee Dixon disagrees with you about Fernandes being fouled leading to the free kick and goal,” reports JR. On Sky, Micah Richards and Roy Keane agree with Dixon. “After watching multiple replays he insisted it was never a foul on Fernandes. He then tried for a couple minutes to get inside the mind of Mike Dean but admitted he couldn’t do it. Can’t say he’s alone on that score.”
Half time: Manchester United 1-0 Manchester City
45+3 mins: That’s all for now. City started well, but have done nothing of note in attack for half an hour or more, have looked feeble in defence, and the goalkeeper’s let in a stinker.
45+1 mins: There will be about two minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.
45 mins: United continue to dominate. Fred and Fernandes in particular have been excellent, as well as Wan-Bissaka on the right. “It’s massively early days but I have not seen City look so shaky for so long a spell recently,” says Mary Waltz.
44 mins: That penalty call gets weirder the more I see it. “He’s having a nightmare,” says Gary Neville of Otamendi.
42 mins: Fred goes down in the area, and is booked for simulation. Replays suggest Otamendi kicked him in the shin, but VAR doesn’t seem interested.
Updated
41 mins: Manchester United are 7-1 up on shot count.
40 mins: Matic lifts the ball over City’s defence to Martial, but instead of holding up off the turf it bounces through to Ederson. “Why don’t more keepers use their feet, like De Gea? Seems like diving to get a shot that’s right at your side isn’t a very efficient approach,” wonders Joe Pearson.
39 mins: Wan-Bissaka ghosts between Zinchenko and Sterling with a lovely bit of skill. Lovely, but completely unnecessary: you could have driven a double-decker bus through the space the two City players were leaving.
38 mins: Wan-Bissaka runs into Otamendi inside the penalty area and goes down hard, but no foul is given.
37 mins: Shaw barges into Cancelo, conceding a free-kick. United are being quite physical in their challenges, all over the pitch. So far this seems to be annoying City a lot more than it’s annoying the referee.
34 mins: Looking at replays, I do think that Fernandes was fouled before the goal. At full speed it looked like Gundogan just kicked the ball, but I think he kicked the United player’s foot first.
33 mins: Looks like Rodri was also booked for dissent, either before or immediately after the goal.
32 mins: Another chance for United! Williams crosses from the left, but Fernandes misjudges its flight and in the end has to stop and jump backwards, and pays the price in both power and accuracy.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Manchester City (Martial, 30 mins)
And they score from the free-kick! Fernandes chips it over the defence, Martial runs onto it and volleys goalwards, and Ederson flops limply over the ball as it skews underneath him and inside the near post!
Updated
29 mins: Fernandinho gets booked, after City players react furiously to the generous award of a free-kick to United after Fernandes goes down over Gundogan’s not exactly forceful challenge.
28 mins: Great chance for United! Martial beats Fernandino wide on the United left and cuts into the area. Fernandes is available just to his right for what would have been a fabulous shooting chance, but instead Martial shoots poorly from the left of goal, straight at Ederson. I’m all for players backing their ability, but that’s terrible decision-making.
Updated
27 mins: United have dominated the last 10 minutes or so, pushing mainly down the flanks. City haven’t kept the ball at all well.
25 mins: Fernandes tries a shot, but hits only the wall.
24 mins: James runs down the right, cuts infield and is brought down by Otamendi a yard outside the area. United have themselves a fine crossing/shooting opportunity here.
22 mins: Williams lifts the ball into the City area, and Martial controls excellently, but he then hits his shot into Otamendi. This isn’t a full-throttle, helter-skelter stereotypical British derby, but it is quite engrossing.
18 mins: Sterling goes down under Fred’s challenge, wants a free-kick and doesn’t get it. A few moments later and about 40 yards upfield Fred goes down under Rodri’s challenge, wants a free-kick and doesn’t get it.
16 mins: Save! United mount their first attack of note, and Fernandes prods through to James, who could have crossed to Martial at the far post, but instead shoots too close to Ederson.
Updated
13 mins: Ederson’s clearance is headed limply to Sterling by Maguire. Sterling passes to Aguero, who nudges past Maguire - who throws himself recklessly into a challenge and bursts into the box, but Lindelof comes to the recue.
10 mins: Save! Aguero and Shaw battle for the ball from the centre circle and down the right flank. The City striker wins the tussle and centres, and Sterling controls and curls a shot towards the far post that wasn’t very firmly struck, giving De Gea a chance to fling himself to the left and push it away.
Updated
9 mins: Martial jumps in front of Fernandinho, and goes down clutching the back of his head. He did get a forearm in the back, but I didn’t see any head-related issues.
7 mins: Gundogan tries to play in Foden on the right, and though Williams gets there first he is sufficiently spooked to send a 50-yard clearing hoik into touch for a corner.
4 mins: Zinchenko’s poor pass from the left almost plays in Martial, who reacts slowly and doesn’t seem to run with any pace as Joao Cancelo overtakes him and plays it back to Ederson.
3 mins: The first big cheer from the home fans comes when Ederson, in clearing the ball, slips and falls over.
1 min: Peeeeeeep! Fernandes takes the kick-off, and this game is on!
The players come out, and walk past each other without dangerous handshaking. “Newcastle fans reading Pep Guardiola’s pre-match musings must be chuffed to learn that their team is in a final,” notes Peter Oh.
Updated
The players are gathering in the tunnel. Bruno Fernandes seems to be sniffing some kind of nasal stick-type sinus-clearing device.
Pep Guardiola calls the games against Real Madrid and Newcastle “our finals”, suggesting that the league is now No3 on their list of priorities:
I think they’ll play five at the back, 5-2-1-2, the same set-up they had against Chelsea when they won 2-0. So ti doesn’t matter, they can change it, they can play 4-2-3-1, a diamond. United was in the recent past more on the break, but now I think they have the quality to play. When a team defends so deep they have the quality to break this. Or they maybe thought to break, but I think they’ll be aggressive, to make high pressing. We’re going to try to impose our game and make chances. In the next three games everybody’s going to play, to try to arrive against Madrid and Newcastle with fresh legs, to play our finals in the best physical condition and everybody fit.
“I find many things amusing,” writes JR, “and one of those things is that they have banned pre-match handshakes and yet after the game all the players and everyone around them are hugging, kissing, shaking hands and doing all sorts. You’ve got to laugh.” Yeah, laugh now while you’ve got the chance. Fast forward a few weeks, though, and you’ll probably have to cough, splutter and wheeze.
Foden is the second-youngest player in the starting line-ups today, with United’s Brandon Williams about three months younger. Mason Greenwood, who is on the bench, is 13 months younger still.
1 - Phil Foden (19y & 285d) will become the youngest Englishman to start a Premier League Manchester derby for Man City since Micah Richards in February 2008 (19y & 231d). Opportunity. #MNUMCI pic.twitter.com/g8IAJVpUFq
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 8, 2020
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a chat:
We just have to concentrate on getting enough points. Today’s a big task, playing against a huge team, but it’s important for us to keep picking up points. We’ve played this set-up before. Bruno is new, obviously, but we’ve had a few decent performances with it.
You can’t [play like they did at the Etihad] at home. You’ve got to try to get after them. We have to try to press them, because if you give them easy possession they’re the best team. We’ve got to go up there and press, see if we can take the sting and the rhythm out of their game and try to dominate themselves. The messages have been quite clear, about what we want from them in this game, and they’re all looking forward to it.
Here’s PA Media on the teams:
Manchester City were without playmaker Kevin de Bruyne for their derby against rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. With the second leg of their Champions League tie against Real Madrid coming up next week, City decided not to risk the Belgian, who landed awkwardly on his shoulder in the Carabao Cup final last Sunday.
De Bruyne did not even make the bench but the Wembley man of the match, Phil Foden, was handed a starting place. Ederson returned in goal and Joao Cancelo was preferred to Kyle Walker at right-back.
United made seven changes from Thursday’s FA Cup win against Derby. Harry Maguire recovered from an ankle injury to skipper the side at Old Trafford, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James also overcame knocks to start.
I don’t know if these are freshly-installed or if they’ve been there a while, but I’m sure they’ll be particularly popular today.
The teams!
The team sheets are in, and the headlines are that Harry Maguire is back to captain United while Kevin de Bruyne is nowhere to be seen:
Manchester United: De Gea, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Wan Bissaka, Matic, Fred, Williams, Bruno Fernandes, James, Martial. Subs: Bailly, Mata, Romero, Ighalo, Greenwood, Tuanzebe, McTominay.
Manchester City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Gundogan, Foden, Aguero, Sterling. Subs: Bravo, Walker, Gabriel Jesus, Silva, Mendy, Mahrez, Garcia.
Referee: Mike Dean.
©️ @HarryMaguire93 is back to lead the Reds in today's Manchester derby!#MUFC #MUNMCI
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 8, 2020
Your City team to take on United! 🙌
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 8, 2020
Ederson, Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho (C), Zinchenko, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Foden, Bernardo, Sterling, Aguero
Subs | Bravo, Walker, Jesus, Silva, Mendy, Mahrez, E Garcia
⚽️ @haysworldwide
🔵 #MUNMCI #ManCity pic.twitter.com/YtlDwVaRYY
Hello world!
It’s the fourth Manchester derby of the season! This fixture truly is the gift that keeps on giving, or at least the gift that keeps on being given. The previous three (and the one before that for good measure, and six of the last seven for that matter) ended in away wins. This fits with the long-term trend: since the day in October 2011 when City went to Old Trafford and won 6-1 there have been 14 away wins in this fixture and only six home wins, which is quite the turnaround - before that there had been one away win in nine. So, in short, Manchester City will probably win today, which is the outcome all this recent history suggests is more likely, and is also supported by the fact that, for all that United are on a Bruno Fernandes-inspired nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions and enjoying what Pep Guardiola called “their best moment of the season”, they have a significantly better football team.
True fact: the only Manchester derby to be played on 8 March was in 1969, when City won 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Here’s some pre-match reading, courtesy of Jonathan Liew:
