Manchester City 3 Manchester United 0: Three things we learned
Last night, Manchester City steam rolled their rivals United at Old Trafford in a humbling performance.
As it happened
Going into the derby clash, things felt good for City.
It was beginning to feel like that post-international break, Guardiola and his men had turned a new leaf.
The victory against Brighton last weekend was a hard-fought and impressive one, and continuing the winning ways in midweek away to Young Boys felt as though momentum was swaying back in Man City’s favour.
For Erik Ten Haag’s United side, they had just come off the back of Andre Onana’s last-ditch heroics in the Champions League, rescuing their narrow 1–0 victory over Copenhagen.
Regardless of how unimpressive United were that night, the game ending in such a manner would only leave the Red Devils’ camp feeling optimistic heading into Sunday’s derby.
Up until the line ups were released.
For the Blues, it was a strong lineup, maybe their strongest, without the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
The crucial John Stones and Rodri looked as though their reunion together was to be continued in the middle of the park, along with the likes of Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish all poised behind the big man, Erling Haaland.
For the home supporters, it was a different story, with their bench arguably being stronger than their starting side.
A back line including Victor Lindelof at left-back, an out-of-favour Harry Maguire at the centre partnered with veteran Johnny Evans, whose last derby appearance came in City’s 6–1 victory at Old Trafford 12 years ago.
Astonishingly, though, it was the home side that seemed the brightest in the early moments.
A couple of lazy passes were picked up by Rasmus Hojlund, who on several occasions had a bit of luck up against City’s defence in the early stages.
However, the Blue side of the City soon took control, and soon after, the chances came flooding in, with Haaland coming close with goalkeeper Onana making a fabulous save, reacting well to the Norwegian’s header.
The ex-Ajax keeper’s impressive shot-stopping soon proved not enough for the home side when striker Hojlund brought down Rodri in the box, giving zero doubt over a penalty decision.
The Manchester City number 9 stood tall over the ball with Ruben Dias guarding the penalty spot away from any trespassers — something FC Copenhagen suffered from in midweek.
Centre forward Haaland slotted his penalty into the back of the net cooly despite a long wait while being jeered by the home supporters.
The second half followed suit, with City dominating their bitter rivals and creating a gluttony of chances.
One player who was at the centre of all of the Blues’ moves was Bernardo Silva, who deservedly went on to claim the man of the Match award.
Like the first half with Haaland’s close-headed effort, the same move was repeated with Silva finding a pocket on the left wing, floating the ball into the target man.
The ball was met with a devastating header from Haaland, crushing any hope that Ten Haag and his men still had.
One nil, there is hope. Two, you never know, but three nil? That’s game over.
In the 80th minute, Haaland found the ball wide of the penalty box and generously gave the ball to Foden, who charged the ball past Onana.
The final goal was the final nail in the coffin for the Blues, sealing their fate as the 191st Manchester Derby winners.
From Haaland’s brace, Bernardo’s world-class performance and Foden’s derby goal, there were many talking points, but what exactly did we learn from the game?
Here are four things that we learned about City’s brilliant derby day performance yesterday.
Jack Grealish is crucial to City
Since Jeremy Doku’s arrival, it’s safe to say the fan base has been split on the Grealish/Doku debate, with many preferring the Belgian’s direct style.
The ex-Villa man has been slated this season for some underwhelming performances when he has managed to get on the field — something that has come scarce for Grealish so far this season.
The arrival of Doku would always come with its challenges, but for many, Grealish lost the battle quickly.
Simply, he has not lost any ‘battle’, and as many know, City and Guardiola rely on having different options in different positions — something that has been core to the success under the Catalan.
Obviously, Doku and Grealish both play (mainly) on the left wing, which, of course, sparked the debate between the pair in the first place.
Doku is a dribbler, a speedster, but Grealish keeps a hold of the ball and helps keep City ticking in possession.
City’s number 10 works incredibly hard, whether up or down the pitch.
With City back to playing the back three system, we may see a lot more of Grealish with the need for men to track back in what is such an attacking system.
The runs that Grealish makes on and off the ball help open spaces for other members of City’s attack.
For Haaland’s first goal, Bernardo Silva found space down the left wing because Grealish unlocked that space for him.
He has been touted as a master of the pre-assist, and he certainly lived up to it yesterday.
Having Grealish back in his groove will be critical for City’s season, and yesterday, he reminded a few of his worth.Josko Gvardiol: The big game player
Josko Gvardiol: The big game player
Summer transfer windows are usually full of headlines about the newest attacking talent heading to the big European clubs; very rarely are defenders’ hyped up’ on a similar level.
The signing of Jeremy Doku has been hugely applauded by City fans, but one signing from the summer has gone a tad under the radar.
In August, City acquired highly-rated World Cup star Josko Gvardiol from German club RB Leipzig.
The Croatian has been patient waiting for his chances, but now it seems he has cemented himself as a critical figure in the Blues’ backline.
Slowly but surely, Gvardiol has been putting in some impressive performances, be it at left-back or centre-half.
With Manuel Akanji’s sending off last week and Nathan Ake’s start midweek, it felt clear that the 21-year-old was in Guardiola’s derby plans.
Pep’s trust in the new man has been shown with a start in City’s away clash with Arsenal, making it two starts against ‘top six’ opposition.
With his three crucial interceptions, he helped prevent several counterattacks from the Red Devils.
Despite making an early error in the derby, he recovered quickly, acting like it had never happened, a mentality Guardiola must love to see in the defender.
Additionally, ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville said: “Gvardiol is having a field day out there. He’s turned into Maldini”, an enormous compliment for any defender.
With big games coming thick and fast for the Citizens, it would be a good estimation to tout Gvardiol for some big game starts.
Bernardo Silva: Mr Fantastic
As displayed in this heat map, Bernardo Silva was everywhere yesterday and played a crucial role in the victory over the club’s Manchester rivals.
Bernardo Silva’s strength is his ability to fit in wherever he is needed and be world-class in that role.
Over Guardiola’s reign, we have seen him as a false nine, winger, attacking or defensive midfielder and even a left-back (I know you remember that one).
Yesterday, it seemed he was deployed as an advanced midfielder alongside Alvarez, but if you think that restricted his role just to attack, you would be wrong.
Along with this assist for Haaland’s second goal and three chances created, Silva made five ground duels and two successful tackles.
He is one of the division’s best players, and that may sound easy to say with him being in a team full of superstars, but he truly is.
Having the dribbling ability that he possesses and the work rate to go along with it creates what is a genuinely fantastic footballer.
Pep Guardiola admitted yesterday that Silva nearly departed the Etihad in the summer: “We were afraid of losing Bernardo Silva in the summer! He is irreplaceable”.
Now, with the summer behind us and Silva in his best form, having him in the team gives City the best possible chance to go on to achieve the unthinkable this season — the first team ever to win four Premier League titles in a row.
