Manchester City 4-1 Manchester United
by Adam Millington
at the City of Manchester Stadium

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City did what they needed to and held onto their six-point advantage at the top of the table as they walked past their Mancunian rivals in Sunday’s home derby.

Liverpool had kept the pressure on by beating West Ham on Saturday afternoon, but the Merseyside team remain six points behind with a game in hand after the end of this weekend’s fixtures.

“It’s winning game by game,” Kevin de Bruyne said of the title race. “They [Liverpool] put the pressure on us – we responded in a good way. We always play the way we need to play. Sometimes we don’t get the result but we always play our football. And we will fight for it until the end of the season.”

The title race can still be called that, but City are holding on well to their leads and don’t seem like letting anybody close them down any time soon. Some home fans would have been nervous going into the match with their bitter rivals, but a comprehensive performance from Guardiola’s men showed that there was no need to be.

It took a mere five minutes for the blues to take the lead on Sunday afternoon. Cutting United to pieces on the wing, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva tapped the ball between themselves, and when the latter directed a tempting pass across the box, Kevin De Bruyne was at hand to drive it home.

That goal was a sign of things to come, a sign of just how vulnerable United were down the right-hand side. While their defence on the whole left much to be desired, Aaron Wan-Bissaka found himself being torn apart time and time again.

Grealish was the architect down that flank. He may not have had the final product, but by holding the ball well and using skills to get the better of Wan-Bissaka, it opened up pockets of space on the inside.

But while City were searching for a second, United managed to drag the scores back level. On the break and taking advantage of a Grealish error, Paul Pogba picked out the on-running Jadon Sancho.

The winger, who joined the Red Devils for £73m from Borussia Dortmund, showed what he can bring to Ralf Rangnick’s side. Cutting onto his right foot, the City academy product unleashed a perfectly-directed curling shot which Ederson had little chance of stopping.

United were without Cristiano Ronaldo, and they were better for it. Rather than being restricted to focusing their play on one man up top, their attacking talents now had the freedom to do as they pleased. 

It may have been a 4-4-2 off the ball with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes leading the line, but when they had possession, they attacked with a front five who interchanged positions and caused havoc for the hosts.

Fred was perhaps United’s brightest spark and actually came very close to getting United’s first goal before Sancho, when he was denied by Ederson at the last minute. The Brazilian midfielder has been criticised by many in the past, but he caused numerous problems for Pep Guardiola’s men and was one of the Reds’ best.

Although United were good up top, it was a completely different story at the back. After an outrageous flick from Phil Foden over the head of Harry Maguire, the defender shot and has his effort parried out by the goalkeeper.

But, after another effort was blocked, it ended up at the feet of De Bruyne – and this was his day. The Beligian hit low and sent the South Stand into delirium, regaining the lead for the hosts. 

With the first half, De Bruyne had done enough for the home faithful, but he still had more to give. As the game seemed to stagnate, this time he turned provider, and City scored their third.

Standing over a corner, the Belgian opted to curl the ball to Riyad Mahrez on the edge of the box, rather than cross into the middle. It was a decision that paid dividends.

What ensued was a wonderful strike from the Algerian winger, who connected sweetly with the ball on the half-volley and tucked it into the bottom-right corner, far out of De Gea’s reach.

Mahrez still had more to give this game, though. It didn’t need any more drama, but this is derby day, so of course it wasn’t the end.

As the clocked ticked over 90 minutes, Riyad Mahrez raced through the defence and beat De Gea with his shot, but the flag was raised.

Well, the flag was raised. But that doesn’t mean anything nowadays, does it? Offsides are decided by millimetres on a computer screen, not the officials.

And so, when VAR checked it, the goal stood. City added a fourth and United were condemned to another embarrassing defeat. The tides of power in this city shifted many years ago, and they don’t seem like reverting to their old ways any time soon.

At the final whistle, the home fans chanted about being champions; the visitors remained silent. There’s one club who now dominate football in Manchester, and they play in sky blue.

“It was a very difficult game against one of the best teams in the world,” said United manager Ralf Rangnick. “We conceded a fourth in the last minute of the game. It is a difficult game that shows we have a long way to go to close that gap.

“It was working. For us it was clear if we want a chance to win the game we have to do a lot of running. You have to be in attacking and hunting mode and we did that in the first half. The third goal killed us off in the end.”

Player ratings:

Manchester City: 

Ederson - 7. Made some good saves.

Cancelo - 7. Instrumental as always down the wing, overlapping with Grealish.

Laporte - 7. Solid as usual.

Stones - 7. Kept the back line steady.

Walker  - 7. Did his job well.

Rodri - 6. Seemed a little absent at times.

Silva - 8. Creative in the middle and got the assist for the opener.

De Bruyne - 9. Excellent throughout the game with two goals and an assist

Mahrez - 8. Bagged a brace including a beatiful half-volley.

Foden - 8. Proved a handful for United to defend.

Grealish - 7. Got the better of Wan-Bissaka every time.

Manchester United: 

De Gea - 6. Faced a lot of shots, but did what he could.

Wan-Bissaka - 3. Always beaten on the right.

Lindelof - 4. The better of the two centre-backs.

Maguire - 3. Poor at the back, let City through often.

Telles - 6. Solid performance.

McTominay - 5. Not at his best.

Fred - 7. Played well up front.

Elanga - 5. Didn’t get into the game.

Fernandes - 6. One of few creative sparks.

Pogba - 6. A handful up top.

Sancho - 8. Good finish for the leveller. 

Subs:

Lingard - 5. Didn’t do much 

Rashford - 5. Saw little of the ball