Manchester United saw another defeat in the Premier League, losing 2-0 to Manchester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening. It was the third defeat in a row for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, their seventh in the last nine matches in all competitions. However, a top four finish is still possible as Arsenal were defeated 3-1 by Wolves.
United started well and took the game to City in the opening stages and had the better opportunities to score in the first half. However, in the second half, City grew into the game, seeking to score, which is what they needed to return to the top of the Premier League table once again, which is exactly what City did.
Just nine minutes into the second half, City found themselves 1-0 up after Bernardo Silva, assisted by Ilkay Gündogan, picked up the ball on the right and drifted into the box. Luke Shaw could not avert the City midfielder from putting his shot past David De Gea. The Liverpool supporters and players might not be best
Just 12 minutes later, City doubled their lead through Leroy Sane, assisted by Raheem Sterling, beat De Gea at the near post, something he needs to become better at stopping
Match Statistics:
Manchester United
1 David De Gea
The Spanish number one made a number of saves to deny Manchester City but in the second half, he conceded twice, one of them was a howler which made him shake his head. United performed better as a team than they did against Everton but the gulf in terms of quality and class is massive compared to the likes of City, Liverpool and Spurs.
Matteo Darmian
The 29-year-old made his first start since January. He played well, especially in the first half, considering he has not played for about three months. Came off with seven minutes remaining with Sanchez replacing him.
18 Ashley Young
The veteran winger-cum-fullback played well for about a third of the game, then he deteriorated. At times he was poor in possession and passing and his crosses do not really need to be talked about. Watching a football playing in these positions and unable to cross is mind numbing.
12 Chris Smalling
The former England international started the game well and did what he needed to do in defence, however, as the game grew, so did City's confidence and the void between Smalling and the talented footballers grew, massively.
2 Victor Lindelof
The Swede struggled against Bernardo Silva on the right and his performances has hit a decline recently. United desperately need some quality at the back. Smalling, Jones, and Rojo are not the level needed.
23 Luke Shaw
Did well in the game but a lax in concentration saw Bernardo cut in and open the scoring for City. Booked for the 11th time in the league this season. Needs to cut his bookings down otherwise he's going to be suspended often. With one actual left-back, it is not what United needs.
15 Andreas Pereira
The Academy graduate started well for United and did some good things at times. However, against City's class, Pereira looked lost at times. Looked to have suffered a hasty injury to his ribs but ran it off and got stuck in for his team.
17 Fred
The Brazilian was far too sloppy in possession at times and I feel his decision making was not the best. At £52 million, or whatever he cost United, you should be expecting much better. Fair play to Shakhtar Donetsk for getting that fee out of United.
6 Paul Pogba
The French World Cup winner started well for United and played some important passes of the ball, which helped. However, he let himself down massively in the second half as he seemed to cool down and started to play some sloppy football. Being the leader, like he suggested he was going to be, does not seem to work they way it did for France. For the money he cost and the wages he gets, he owes it to the club to put 100% effort in 100% of the time.
14 Jesse Lingard
He will not be impressed with himself. Moments after City took the lead, he missed a sitter, which could have been a saving grace for United. He did a lot of running in the match but that is not enough to play for Manchester United. His execution needs to improve significantly in order to be anything but a squad player.
10 Marcus Rashford
The best player on the pitch for United. Instantly got under the skin of City with his pace. Got fouled by Kompany twice, with the Belgian booked once. Throughout the game, he put pressure on City, which was good to see after poor matches against Barcelona recently. He is United's best chance of a goal, in a time where scoring them seems to have been forgotten.
Substitutes
Romelu Lukaku
Replaced Pereira 72'. The Belgian forward struggled, which is what he has done for a while now. I would not be sorry to see him leave in the summer. United needs a striker who can score and knows how to score. It doesn't look good for him.
9 Anthony Martial
Replaced Lingard 83'. The Frenchman had no impact in the game, the same as against Everton on Sunday. Nobody can hide on the pitch but he seems to do a good job doing just that.
Alexis Sanchez
Replaced Darmian 83'. I can see why he does not feature much in the plans of Solskjaer. He has to get rid of the Chilean in the summer. Time and time again he's expected to perform and has no impact whatsoever. Granted he had seven minutes plus stoppage time but Solskjaer had just nine minutes plus stoppage time on that night in the Camp Nou!
Goals: Bernardo Silva 54′, Leroy Sane 66′
Assists: Ilkay Gündogan 54′, Raheem Sterling 66′
Manchester United: De Gea; Darmian (Sanchez 83′), Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Pereira (Lukaku 72′), Fred, Pogba; Lingard (Martial 83′), Rashford
Substitutes Not Used: Romero; Dalot; Mata, Matic
Bookings: Andreas Pereira 24′, Luke Shaw 89′; Vincent Kompany 10′, Oleksandr Zinchenko 26′
