Manchester United travelled to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City after earning an impressive 2-1 victory against Juventus in midweek. The Red Devils got dominated in the first half and went behind to a David Silva goal. The Citizens doubled their lead through Sergio Aguero’s powerful finish from a tight angle.
However, United refused to give up and earned a penalty which Anthony Martial converted from the spot to give his team some hope in the game. But their efforts were in vain as City scored again courtesy of IIkay Gündogan’s goal to bag all three points on the day in what turned out to be a comfortable 3-1 win over their local rivals.
Let’s take a look at how each Manchester United player performed during the clash against the Citizens.
GK: David De Gea – 6/10
The Spaniard made some routine saves early on but gave away the ball cheaply which started the City counter-attack that led to Aguero’s goal. He also got beaten from a tight angle which will disappoint him a lot.
RB: Ashley Young – 5/10
He had a tough assignment of marking Raheem Sterling but failed to pass the test as the Man City speedster’s pace gave him a lot of headaches when Young was defending in his own half.
CB: Chris Smalling – 6/10
The English defender managed to keep Aguero quiet for the majority of the game. However, he failed to read the danger on three separate occasions which ultimately cost his team a result.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 6/10
Another solid display from the United centre-back. However, he was no match for the quality of the City strikeforce who still managed to score three goals on the day.
LB: Luke Shaw – 5/10
The United left-back lacked the cutting edge going forward but did well to neutralise the threat of Riyad Mahrez in the first half.
CM: Ander Herrera – 5/10
The Spaniard found it difficult to get himself into the game and seems like he was completely overwhelmed by Man City’s fluid midfield.
CM: Marouane Fellaini – 5.5/10
The Belgian international won a lot of headers during the game but other than that; he was a mere spectator during the match.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 6/10
He kept things ticking in midfield but lacked the invention required to open up the City defence.
RM: Jesse Lingard – 4/10
The English prospect was hardly in the game and put on another miserable performance in a Man United shirt.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 6/10
The English international saw a lot of the ball but was mostly a frustrated figure in the opposition half as he hardly got any support from his teammates.
LM: Anthony Martial – 5/10
The Frenchman had a few bright moments during the game, but he couldn’t take the chances that fell in his path. However, he did step up to score with relative ease from the penalty spot.
Substitutes:
LM: Alexis Sanchez – 5/10
The Chilean looked like a man on a mission, but sadly his teammates were not on the same page.
CAM: Juan Mata – 5/10
He failed to make an impact after coming off the bench.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 6.5/10
The Belgian was an isolated figure but did earn the penalty after coming on in the second half.
