Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City’s title challenge suffered a damaging blow at Old Trafford as Manchester United claimed a deserved 2-0 derby victory in a contest defined by City’s sterile display and United’s cutting efficiency on the break.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu in the second-half settled a tense, chaotic encounter that saw City dominate possession but repeatedly flirt with danger before being punished.

Gianluigi Donnarumma’s outstanding performance prevented a heavier defeat, yet City left Old Trafford frustrated, exposed and with searching questions to answer after another league setback.

Coming into this fixture after drawing their last three Premier League games and winning both of their FA Cup and Carabao Cup matches, Pep Guardiola made three changes to the side he put out against Newcastle United in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

James Trafford making way for Gianluigi Donnaruma, Matheus Nunes (out with the flu) being replaced by Rico Lewis – and Nico O’Reilly making way for Rodri to anchor the midfield.

Antoine Semenyo made his Premier League debut for Manchester City after scoring in his previous two appearances. He was joined in the attacking positions by Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland.

City started the game by employing a build-up pattern of having Rodri and Silva drop deeper while playing from the back, and then Rodri shielded the three-man backline of Nathan Ake, Max Alleyne and Abdukodir Khusanov.

Rico Lewis inverted into the midfield from his right-back spot while City were in possession. Semenyo and Doku hugged the touchlines on the right and left wings, respectively, while Phil Foden was tasked to play as the number 10 – trying to find space behind the United double pivot of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo and unlock the United defence.

The home side began menacingly as from an early corner, Bruno Fernandes’ inswinging delivery was met by an onrushing Harry Maguire, who beat Haaland at the back-post and smashed his header onto the crossbar, giving City an early reprieve.

Diogo Dalot was shown an early yellow card in the 11th minute for a reckless challenge on Doku, catching the Belgian international’s shin with a late challenge.

City created their first decent chance in the 14th minute. Lewis found Semenyo free on the right wing, and the Ghanian international cut inside and whipped a teasing delivery inside the United box, but Bernardo Silva could only head it over the crossbar.

Amidst a volatile atmosphere, tempers seemed to flare up on the pitch, with Luke Shaw being the next United player to be booked for another careless challenge on Rodri near the left touchline. Both United full-backs were now on a booking.

Donnarumma was called into action in the 21st minute as Bruno Fernandes’ cross was met by a speeding Dorgu at the back post. Donnarumma made a crucial close-range save to block the latter’s strike.

City had been wasteful with both of their corners as well as in the final third in the first quarter of the game, lacking their usual precision. Despite having possession in the middle of the pitch, City didn’t create any other goal-scoring attempts at the United keeper, except for that Semenyo cross.

City were handed a double reprieve in the matter of moments. First, a Rodri error allowed Fernandes to find Mbeumo in the box, who was denied by a last-gasp tackle from Khusanov.

Moments later, Amad Diallo slipped behind the City defence, latching onto a pass from Fernandes before rounding Donnaruma and finding the back of the net.  However, he was caught narrowly offside, and VAR confirmed the decision. Despite having an advantage in possession, City were living dangerously.

Manchester City finally created an attempt on target in the 36th minute when Max Alleyne’s close-range header from a corner appeared to be sneaking in, only for Dalot and Lammens to clear it away.

United had another goal ruled out in the 41st minute as Bruno Fernandes managed to score after rounding off both Ake and Donnaruma, only to be denied by an offside call against him, and the VAR confirmed the same. Rodri was shown a yellow card at the stroke of half-time for a slight trip on Dorgu.

A goalless first half at Old Trafford encapsulated City’s performance. Despite having over 70% of the possession, they couldn’t create decisive chances to break the deadlock, and the backline looked shaky at times. Guardiola made a couple of changes at halftime, with Nico O’Reilly replacing Max Alleyne and Rayan Cherki replacing Phil Foden.

City began by controlling the possession like before but posing virtually no attacking threat. O’Reilly was shown an early yellow card for hauling back Diallo near the touchline. Haaland finally had an opportunity to shoot at goal as he was slipped through by Semenyo, but his low strike from 10 yards out was effectively blocked by a sliding challenge from Martinez.

Donnarumma turned saviour again in the 58th minute as he made a crucial double save, first a fine save to parry away Diallo’s angled drive, before intelligently reacting to save a close-range effort from Casemiro. Sterile possession from City followed before Donnarumma made another crucial save from Mbeumo at the hour mark.

However, Manchester United broke the tie in the 65th minute at Old Trafford. Bruno Fernandes initiated a rapid breakaway, found Mbeumo with a through-ball and the Cameroon captain calmly placed it past Donnaruma into the bottom right corner. United led 1-0 with 25 minutes left for City to salvage the situation.

Mbeumo was replaced by Matheus Cunha in the 71st minute. Further misery was added for Manchester City when they conceded another soft goal in the 76th minute as Cunha managed to beat O’Reilly and send an inviting cross into the box. Dorgu outplayed Lewis and scored from close to the penalty spot. United led 2-0.

Mason Mount added to Manchester City’s misery by scoring to make it 3-0 in the 91st minute of the game, but fortunately, the goal was ruled offside after VAR intervention, leaving City to depart Old Trafford dejected, disappointed and facing a significant setback in the title race.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7.5 (POTM)

Gianluigi Donnarumma was undoubtedly the best performer for Man City. He made a crucial close-range save from Dorgu in the first-half and he also saved City by rushing off the goal line a couple of times and making clearances.

He made a fabulous double save in the second-half from Amad Diallo and Casemiro in a span of moments to keep City in the game and was called to action again at the hour mark, denying Mbeumo from close range.

Rico Lewis – 4.5

Despite being decent with the ball in the first-half, he was unable to effectively handle Dorgu’s speed and tenacity and was shown a yellow card for his challenge on him in the second-half. He failed to follow Dorgu’s movement, which also contributed to the second goal.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7

Khusanov made a crucial last-gasp tackle in the first half to prevent Mbeumo from scoring and looked assured despite the volatile and frenzied atmosphere.

Max Alleyne – 5.5

Shaky at times, yet he created City’s only chance in the first-half when his header was cleared by a combined effort from Semmens and Dalot.

Nathan Ake – 5

His performance wasn’t assured. He was fortunate with the offside calls that led to the disallowed goals in the first-half. He could have performed better in blocking Cunha’s cross, which resulted in the second goal. 

Rodri – 6

This was his first start in a high-stakes away encounter following his return from injury. He was decent on the ball but a tad bit slow while snuffing out danger during United’s quick transitions. He continues to be among City’s better performers.

Bernardo Silva – 5.5

Neat in possession he had an opportunity to give City the lead but could not keep his header below the crossbar. This was yet another performance that left much to be desired.

Phil Foden – 5

The City academy graduate’s performance was very disappointing as he posed virtually no threat to the United backline. He was substituted at half-time.

Jeremy Doku – 6.5

One of City’s better performers yet could not significantly impact the game.

Antoine Semenyo – 6

Semenyo had a rather quiet display, unable to really impact the game apart from a couple of chances in the first-half – and he was kept quiet for most parts of the game.

Erling Haaland – 4.5

He was largely anonymous and did not have a significant impact on the game. It took well over 50 minutes for him to register double-digit touches and have a shot, which was blocked by Lisandro Martinez. Seven games without a goal from open play for the Norwegian.

Substitutes

Rayan Cherki – 5

Flashes of skill but no significant impact.

Nico O’Reilly – 4.5

He received a yellow card for pulling Diallo back near the touchline, faced constant pressure and was unable to prevent Cunha from delivering the cross that resulted in United’s second.

Tijjani Reijnders – 5

He was substituted in after City conceded their second goal, and he did not have much impact.

Divine Mukasa – 5

He replaced Haaland purely as a rest and precautionary measure, which had no significant impact on the proceedings.

Rayan Ait Nouri – 5

He replaced Doku but his performance did not have a significant impact on the game.