3 winners and losers from the Manchester Derby

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Pogbooom!

Oh my, oh my! Have you caught your breath yet?

To simply put it, on a night when Manchester City were playing to clinch the silverware, Manchester United were playing for pride.

City needed a win to become champions but things didn't turn out to be so straightforward.

Captain Vincent Kompany gave them the lead with a bullet header from a corner and Ilkay Gundogan doubled the lead in the 30th minute following some good work inside the box. City headed into half-time with a 2-0 lead and may have started their celebrations a bit early.

A rampant United was let off loose by Mourinho in the second half and Paul Pogba scored a brace, with just 97 seconds between the goals, to draw level. The first one was a deft finish after a brilliant chest-off from Ander Herrera while he rose highest to Sanchez's cross to head it expertly past Ederson to equalise.

As if that didn't dampen City's spirits, Manchester United took the lead in the 69th minute as Chris Smalling put it past a helpless Ederson from Sanchez's free kick, a goal that would eventually turn out to be the winner.

City applied pressure relentlessly but in vain. United pulled off a trademark comeback victory to delay City's coronation.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the game.


Winners:

#3 Manchester United fans

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
United gave it all in the second half

If there was one thing going on every Red Devil's mind this morning, it was to hope that United can delay City's celebrations. Local bragging rights were at stake.

The last thing they wanted was to see their "noisy neighbours" clinching the title before their very eyes. And their prayers were answered.

Despite an insipid first-half performance that saw them going 2-0 down within the half-hour mark, United returned with a sense of purpose and produced the brand of football their fans craved for. And they reaped the benefits.

#2 Jose Mourinho

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
A 'Special' victory for the 'Special One'

If there is one thing that Mourinho hates in all of this world, it's losing a match. So you can imagine what it's like for him to lose to one to their arch-rivals on a night when with such high stakes.

It was another match to show the world that he remains the master tactician. A match that showed his prowess once again despite an uninspiring first 45 minutes, Mourinho's men came all guns blazing in the second half to win this classic affair.

A classic Fergie hairdryer at half-time? We'll never know!

It was also a match that underlines the progress United is making under him and re-affirms his credentials as the right man to lead the club to glory. A special victory indeed!

#1 Paul Pogba

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Pogba celebrates his goal with Smalling

So much has been said of Pogba's role in the team and it is one of the hottest talking points among the United faithful. Without question, we can see the best out of him when he is deployed in a free role and given the creative burden he wants.

But Mourinho has rarely allowed him that at the Old Trafford outfit and it is always a mystery because he has always delivered when given the freedom to play at will.

Two assists against Arsenal, another two against Everton and today, two fantastic goals.

A match that will mean so much to him and a match in which he needed to make a big statement, which he happily obliged to.

The two goals came within two minutes and it also served as a warning to everyone who writes him off very often, that they have not seen his best in the red colour of Manchester United yet.

Losers:

#3 Danilo

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Danilo had a poor game

It was expected of City to rest key players ahead of the UEFA Champions League second leg, but Pep Guardiola decided to play a decent team instead. A notable omission was Kyle Walker who was on the bench and his understudy, Danilo, was expected to fill in his boots. Sadly, he didn't.

The Brazilian was careless in possession and was frequently found out of position. Unlike Walker who bombards the wings, Danilo provided very little going up front and made rudimentary mistakes throughout the game.

The summer signing will hope that Guardiola will not lose complete faith in him and he will want to make amends next time around.

#2 Pep Guardiola

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Consecutive losses

There were claims that Pep Guardiola will rotate his squad and give the majority of his first-team players a rest ahead of the showdown with Liverpool, but that seemed to be a mere ploy. The Spaniard named a strong XI with only Walker and Kevin De Bruyne the notable omissions as Sergio Aguero was returning from an injury.

We know that deep within his heart he wanted to win the game today to rub salt into United's wounds and all three of his substitutions suggested that.

He, in a desperate attempt to salvage something, subbed in Aguero, De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus in a game that was at its boiling point. Guardiola rolled his dice to win the game, putting his players' fitness on the line ahead of the big Champions League game.

He couldn't get the victory he wanted and he didn't get to enjoy his coronation the way he would have dreamt it.

#1 Raheem Sterling

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Sterling missed a lot of chances

Yes, Guardiola has improved him leaps and bound this season, but today's derby will go down easily as one of Raheem Sterling's worst ever outings.

He was lively in the first half and caused Ashley Young a bit of trouble but when presented with two great opportunities to put City 3-0 up, he sent both crashing into the crowd; two shocking misses from the player which if gone in would've resulted in a very different end to the story.

Furthermore, when Otamendi directed a header from a corner towards the goal, he stretched his leg to make contact with the ball to direct it towards the post and De Gea would subsequently clear it away for a corner. The header looked to have beaten Spain's No. 1 and perhaps there was no need for Sterling to get in on the action.

A night to forget for the player and one he will be having nightmares of at least until City get their hands on the title, which still seems inevitable.

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