On an afternoon weekend when everyone will be busy with many social activities, Manchester United hosted Manchester City and they came from behind to beat them 2-1 in the 189th Manchester derby, putting United six points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford overturned Jack Grealish’s opening goal in a back-and-forth Manchester derby that has really shaken up the table. Rashford looked to have picked up a knock and was coming off at the end of the first half, but the top scorer carried on and bagged the winner after wisely avoiding touching the ball from Casemiro’s pass to Bruno, because he was offside.
But Rashford is just one of many talking points we have after this dramatic derby. Insight media brings out the talking points of the game after this dramatic win…
RELIABLE RASHFORD
What more can Marcus Rashford do? If there is any player who looked like they will score today, it was not Erling Haaland, it was Rashford. United’s no.10 now has nine goals in seven games and was been United’s biggest threat against City, making crucial runs down the left-hand side, he has shown he has pace to burn, and he will be angry with himself for missing the chances he had when he was one-on-one with Ederson in the first half. He picked up a knock towards the end of the half and many thought that would be the end of Marcus’ Manchester derby. But the in-form forward kept going and he finally found the net from an Alejandro Garnacho’s cross. A big goal from the in-form striker from Wythenshawe. Rashford has now scored in the last seven games in all competitions, the first Red to do so since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.
PROPER DERBY ATMOSPHERE
For any United fan, there are always two games in the season you want to be a part of – Liverpool and Manchester City. And today the United faithful came out to cheer their team on. The classic songs were sung, the noise levels were off the scale and both sets of fans let their voices be heard. By the end of the game, the Red Army were in incredible spirits and stayed behind to cheer their heroes to the rafters, with Raphael Varane leading the celebrations.
HAALAND KEPT QUIET ONCE AGAIN
United’s defensive record in the Premier League this season has been very impressive since a poor opening, keeping eight clean sheets putting them at third place behind Arsenal, also with eight, and Newcastle with 10. And that was on full display in the first half, with City not registering a single shot on target throughout the 45 minutes. Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia kept Riyad Mahrez quiet, while Erling Haaland did not have a significant impact on the game, although he had one effort well blocked by Casemiro and the Brazilian nipped the ball off his toe towards the end. City only registered one attempt on target all match – Grealish’s header.
REDS IN THE CROWD
The strength in depth was perhaps evident before the game. Jadon Sancho, Diogo Dalot and the newest signing Wout Weghorst were all present at the Theatre of Dreams. Sancho has not featured for the Reds since United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in October and we hope to see him back soon. Dalot picked up a knock in the 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup this past Tuesday, being replaced by Aaron Wan-Bissaka who started against City this afternoon, and was excellent. Weghorst will provide more options in attack, hopefully starting in midfield
GREAT STAT FOR GARNACHO
After the Grealish goal, it looked as though the game had lost a gear. But with the introduction of Alejandro Garnacho, injecting some pace down the left-hand side, the belief was installed in the fans and the players that we could salvage something. And that belief was repaid by Fernandes with a fine finish past Ederson to level the game against our rivals. And just moments later, Garnacho was involved in the play again, beating Nathan Ake and firing the cross over to Rashford and United clinched the win and are now just six points behind league leaders Arsenal. Garnacho is now the youngest player ever to register an assist in a Manchester derby since the dawn of the Premier League, according to Opta.
