A Tale of One City... And One United

MANCHESTER UNITED VERSUS MANCHESTER CITY

This is a huge fixture in the race for the Premier League title. I knew that mixing it in with another game wouldn’t have done it justice. Here is my full game analysis!

Coming into this game, Manchester City were practically untouchable. In first place with 65 points, they are 14 points above second-place Man United, and could go 17 points clear if they win. Manchester United know they are the only hope of stopping City’s title celebrations, so this game is a must win.

Manchester United are looking confident in the early proceedings of the match. Their passes are sharp and they are penetrating the Manchester City defence. Manchester United are suddenly in the penalty box after dispossessing City in their own half from a throw-in. Rashford cuts across goal, and is brought down!! IT'S A PENALTY AFTER 35 SECONDS! Gabriel Jesus is the culprit here! God knows why he attempted the tackle from behind, as there were defenders covering Rashford in front of him! Guardiola must be FUMING. A careless few seconds could cost them an early deficit. 

Bruno Fernandes is the one who will take the shot, as always. Ederson is standing tall, trying to distract Fernandes by slapping his gloves together. Fernandes looks focused. The referee blows his whistle— Fernandes steps up , AND SCORES! GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAL!!! It's not the most confident penalty ever, as Ederson dives the right way and gets his hand on it, and while he may feel he should have saved it, Fernandes and Manchester United won’t care! Their directness in the early seconds has paid dividends. 

Manchester City are now settling into this game, and after being pressed into their own half, they are making more passes and looking ever more dangerous. I do feel bad for the Manchester United defense, as they will have one seriously hard time keeping out the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez. However, we have seen in past Manchester Derbies how Manchester United’s defense can go from a flammable mess to a brick wall against their crosstown rivals. We haven't seen Wan-Bissaka in a while, but he is one of the fastest players around, and can go toe to toe with Raheem Sterling.

Just like many predicted, Manchester United would be finding it very difficult to continue to push Manchester City, who are basically machines. It's all Manchester City at the moment. The Sky Blues are pinning the Red Devils in their own half at the moment. The Manchester United defense looks tired already, which is concerning, because we are still in the first half. However, they are still putting in the tackles when they need to. For now, they are holding off the Citizens. Just barely. The question is, will Manchester City be able to take their chances? 

Great chance for Manchester United! Daniel James makes a good run up the field, after winning the ball back in their own half. He links up with Marcus Rashford, who passes the ball to Fernandes. However, when trying to put in a through ball to Martial, his pass is too strong, and goes out of play. This is a warning to Manchester City. They need to be careful about putting too many players up the field, because Manchester United have arguably the faster team overall, and one counterattack is all it takes to do some serious damage. The halftime whistle blows!

HALFTIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 1–0 MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City start the second half just like they ended the first: in complete control! They move the ball up the field with ease, always being first to every open ball. An equalizer is surely coming for the Blue side of Manchester. Here come Manchester City with another trademark passing masterclass! Mahrez collects the ball after dispossessing Rashford, plays it to Jesus from just inside the box, then lays it off for Rodri to strike!! OFF THE BAR!! Wow, how much more does Manchester City need to do to level the score? They have been so dominant for so long in this match, it feels almost cruel. They really do deserve an equalizer.

Here comes Manchester United. Henderson in goal, throws a long pass to Luke Shaw, sparking yet another United counterattack. Shaw now skips past Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. This is looking like a good opportunity for Manchester United, who have many players up for this attack. Shaw feeds in Rashford, who creeps in past John Stones. Rashford tees the ball back to Luke Shaw, who takes on the shot! AND IT'S IN!! GOOOOOOOOAAAAAL!!!! Completely against the run of play! 2–0 United!! After seemingly having nowhere to shoot from his position, Shaw slides the ball low into the corner. No chance for Ederson!

It's insane what these derbies can do to teams, and individual players. This goal really came out of nowhere! However, I did mention how deadly United can be if they put enough bodies forward. On the other hand, It didn't seem like Shaw even needed them! The City defense looked to be all out of sorts based on that passage of play. They DEFINITELY should have done better. It was far too easy for Shaw to get past Rodri, and the fact that he found ANY room for the shot is poor in City’s point of view.

City are looking increasingly desperate for anything at this point. They were so close to beating their own win streak of 21, but their run of wins looks like it could be coming to an end. City are still moving the ball up the field, but they’re not as precise as in the first half. Kevin De Bruyne puts in a cross, Sterling’s  marker falls over, leaving him open! MISS! The cross was just too high for Sterling to get a good head on it, and he knocks it over the bar. So many chances are going begging for City! If Pep Guardiola had hair, I'm sure that he would be tearing it out right about now.

For all of City’s attacks, nothing has come from it. Yes, many of those chances should have been put away, but much needs to be said of the Manchester United defense. It must be exhausting trying to keep up with City’s attacks, but they have matched them excellently. The back four’s heroics must not be understated. If they hadn't put up the performance that we saw from them today, Manchester City would be taking the three points. However, that's not the case. There goes the full time whistle!

FULL TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 2–0 MANCHESTER CITY

What a derby the football gods had in store for us today! The quality, the drama, the goals--so delicious, it was decadent to watch. This result still leaves Manchester City with a massive 11 point gap with United in second place, but you never know…