Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City: 3 Reasons Why Red Devils were hammered at home in the derby | Carabao Cup 2019-20

Manchester United hosted Manchester City at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal, as the Red Devils looked to register another famous victory against their cross-town rivals. Despite their underwhelming start to the Premier League season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side claimed bragging rights in enemy territory last month, as they recorded a stunning 2-0 victory against last season's treble domestic treble winners, a result that seemingly handed the initiative to Liverpool in the title race.

In stark contrast to their previous encounter against the Cityzens, Manchester United were taught a lesson on their home turf, as they crumbled to an embarrassing 3-1 defeat against a rampant Manchester City side. The reigning Premier League champions raced to 3-0 lead in the first half, as the home side were red-faced by the team they referred to as the noisy neighbours in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Goals from Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez in a whirlwind 15-minute spell in the first-half put the visitors in pole position, before the home side's misery was compounded by an Andreas Pereira own goal. A Marcus Rashford strike after the interval brought Manchester United back in the tie but the Red Devils are left with a mountain to climb in the second leg, as they failed to recover from City's first-half blitzkrieg.

As Solskjaer's side were put to the sword but the reigning winners of the competition, let's look at three talking points from the game.

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3. Guardiola's decision to deploy a false 9 paid dividends

Pep Guardiola's decision to start the game without a striker proved dividends

Pep Guardiola opted to name a starting XI without an out an out striker, as Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus found themselves on the bench. Bernardo Silva was deployed as a false 9 in what proved to be a masterstroke by the Spanish tactician, with Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez stationed either side of him.

The 24-year-old broke the deadlock with a venomous strike from outside the area, as the ball rifled into the roof of the net past the despairing dive of David de Gea. Moments later, Silva was at it once again, as Mahrez latched onto his inch-perfect defence-splitting pass to round the keeper and slot the ball into an empty net. City kept growing in stature as the game progress and gained cruise control of the tie, as well worked move was inadvertently turned into his own net by Andreas Pereira to cap off a miserable half for the hosts.

Bernardo Silva's heat map against Manchester United

The Cityzens were tactically set up to exploit Manchester United's lack of control in central areas and Guardiola's decisions to leave out two of his starting strikers paid dividends, as his side put on a show with an eye-catching brand of free-flowing attacking football.

2. Injury-raved hosts pay price for depleted squad

Manchester United v Manchester City - Carabao Cup: Semi-Final

Marcus Rashford was handed the captain's armband on what was his 199th appearance for Manchester United and although the 21-year-old marked the occasion with a second-half strike, the hosts' deficiencies were made more apparent than ever, as injuries to key players came back to haunt them in the League Cup semi-final.

Harry Maguire joined the club's growing injury list, as the Englishman became the latest casualty to a list that already comprises of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay, with Anthony Martial also struggling with a niggle in recent weeks. The gulf of class between the two sides was brought to the forefront and with United missing key players across the pitch, Guardiola's side exploited their frailties to put one foot on yet another League Cup final.

While the likes of Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira struggled in the centre of the park, Fred continued his recent renaissance with another commendable performance and the Brazilian is one of the few players who did his reputation no harm on the night. The 26-year-old was joint top on the night for final third passes (20), interceptions (4) and tackles won (3), he stood his own despite the result and tried to make things happen for his side, while most of his teammates fell flat after three unanswered goals in the first half.

The absence of the ever-improving McTominay and the industrious Pogba were felt dearly, as was the presence of Maguire at the back, with Phil Jones struggling to get to grips with the game.

It is no secret that Manchester United do not have the personnel to compete in the top end of the Premier League table but in the wake of recent injuries, the Red Devils are also seriously short on numbers. Reinforcements in the January transfer window should be of paramount importance to Solskjaer's side if they are to finish the season strongly and it remains to be seen if the record English champions splash the cash in the upcoming weeks.

1. City's first-half blitzkrieg handed them the initiative

Manchester City effectively sealed the game in a rampant first-half performance

The last meeting between the two sides produced one of the headline results of the Premier League season, as Manchester United registered a stunning 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium in December. A damaging defeat against their cross-town rivals came as a massive blow, as the result seemingly handed Liverpool the initiative in the title race and Guardiola's side visited Old Trafford to set things right against their arch-rivals.

Despite playing away from home, the Cityzens gained ascendency from the opening exchanges and started the game with the swagger that one would associate with a Pep Guardiola side. A whirlwind 22-minute spell in the first half not only handed them a three-goal cushion but also put the visitors in pole position to reach yet another League Cup final. Marcus Rashford's second-half strike gives the Red Devils a glimmer of hope for the second leg but City look well equipped to secure qualification, after a stunning performance away from home.

Manchester United had no answers to the away side's brilliance, as they were carved open with relative ease by a team that kept growing in stature in the first half. Solskjaer's side were left with a mountain to climb after the interval and City's dominance in the first 45 minutes effectively won the game for them.