Manchester City blew away Manchester United a 2-0 scoreline at Old Trafford. It was a really dull performance by the men in Red who were shambolic in their defense once again.
The game started with an own goal by Eric Bailly after Aaron Wan-Bissaka failed to track down a teasing Joao Cancelo cross. Eric Bailly has become the first Manchester United player to score an own goal in a Manchester Derby.
With that goal, Man United have now failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 14 home games which is their longest run since 1959. United were completely dominated in possession by Pep Guardiola’s boys.
Man City have now won more Premier League games against Man Utd at Old Trafford (8) than any other visiting team in the competition's history.
Old Trafford is Blue. 😉 pic.twitter.com/zLzf6wn9sN
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 6, 2021
Solskjaer optioned to play with the similar formation that he used against Tottenham and Atalanta. Although the 3-5-2 system did provide results against Spurs, it was awful against Atalanta and again had no productivity to show against Man City.
Man City had completed 809 passes by the final whistle which is the most a team has ever made against Man United in the Premier League since 2004. This shows that the men in blue had completely taken over the Old Trafford stadium with their playmaking skills and exquisite passing.
Before half-time Man City had numerous chances to score their second goal but United goalkeeper David de Gea made some dazzling saves to keep United in the game.
But Bernardo Silva’s goal in the 45th minute proved to be too much for this United squad. Our defenders failed to mark Bernardo Silva’s who headed home by squeezing the ball between De Gea and the post.
Manchester United had managed just four touches in the Man City box as their center-backs didn’t give any roam for the United attackers. In the second-half, Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, and Gundogan had received several great chances to score their goal but were unable to keep up the composure.
In reality, the scorecard could have been much worse if Guardiola’s attackers would have taken their chances well. It was a nightmare for Man United’s defenders who were outclassed at every position at the pitch.
Cristiano Ronaldo had just 27 touches in the entire contest and Man City’s Bernardo Silva who was playing as a false 9, had registered 86 touches to his name.
Solskjaer was out of words after the match, and he accepted about the gulf in class between the two Manchester sides.
He said:
” Of course it’s very disappointing. It’s a big step backwards, it is a way of losing that we don’t like. When you lose a game against a good team you want to see a better Man United team than that.”
“When we had the ball they pressed us really well. We couldn’t get the angles we needed to get the quality we have in behind. So we never got to the level that we need to be at to win against good teams.”
United have now lost eight home matches since the start of the new season and this has brought in more pressure on Solskjaer and his players. With Antonio Conte’s move to Tottenham, United’s chance of holding onto the Italian manager has hit a major roadblock.
United now face a series of three away games against Watford, Villarreal and Chelsea which will all be tricky matches to play.
What’s next:
Manchester United next face Watford after one week of the international break. The game will be commenced on the 20th of November at the Vicarage Road.
