Manchester United played hosts to Manchester City at Old Trafford earlier tonight hoping to bounce back from their dismal 4-0 thrashing away at Everton. The Red Devils gave the visitors too much respect in the first half, but they did enough in defence to go into half-time with nothing to split the two teams.
However, the second half was a different story once Leroy Sane came off the bench as the German wreaked havoc in the final third. Bernardo Silva finally made the breakthrough in the 54th minute via his clever finish before Sane found the back of the net to ensure the three points for his team. Pep Guardiola’s men ran out convincing 2-0 winners on the night.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player fared during the match against the Citizens.
GK: David De Gea – 2/10
The Spanish keeper was at fault for conceding both goals as he didn’t cover his inner post. It was a real drop in quality for a world-class keeper like him.
RB: Ashley Young – 6/10
The English full-back worked his socks off for his team, but he rarely troubled the Man City defenders in the opposing half.
CB: Matteo Darmian – 5/10
He did enough to keep things level at half-time. However, the Citizens frontline took him to the cleaners in the second half as he ended up conceding two goals at the back.
CB: Chris Smalling – 4/10
The English defender has a knack for making rash decisions when he is put under pressure by the opposing forwards. It was once again on display in the second half as his decision-making on the fly let him down and left Man United exposed at the back.
CB: Victor Lindelof – 4/10
Lindelof tried to contain Sergio Aguero but ultimately failed to cope with the Argentine’s movements during the game.
LB: Luke Shaw – 3/10
The Red Devils left-back gave Bernardo Silva way too much space in the lead up to the opening goal of the game. Shaw had a solid first half, but his performance was a story of mistakes in the second.
CM: Andreas Pereira – 4/10
The youngster got cautioned in the first half and gave away the ball too many times in midfield.
CM: Fred – 5/10
The Brazilian showed some creativity in the first half, but he was non-existent in the second.
CM: Paul Pogba – 3/10
It was all style and no substance from Pogba. The Frenchman played some flashy one-touch passes, but he was guilty of giving away the ball too much and didn’t work hard for his team.
ST: Jesse Lingard – 4/10
The English attacker was a frustrated figure up top as he was starved of any chances during the derby. He also missed a sitter in the second half when the Citizens were leading 1-0.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 4/10
The English forward was Man United’s best weapon in the opposition half. However, he was selfish and lacked the end-product in the final third.
Substitutes:
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 6/10
The Belgian hardly made a difference when he came on for the final quarter of the derby.
LM: Anthony Martial – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
RM: Alexis Sanchez – N/A
The Chilean came on way too late to make any real difference on the pitch.
