Premier League 18/19, Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City: 5 players who cost United the game

Manchester United welcomed Manchester City to Old Trafford on Wednesday evening in perhaps one of the most defining Manchester Derbies of recent times. The game between these two fierce rivals have always been entertaining and there's a lot more than just three points at stake when these two meet. However, this time, the game had far-reaching implications which made it even more intriguing.

Manchester City had been stretched to the wire by a resurgent Liverpool side in the Premier League title race. Jurgen Klopp's team was two points clear at the top of the table having played a game more, which meant that City needed a win at Old Trafford to reclaim their top place. With just three games left after this massive battle, Pep Guardiola knew that there was very little margin for error.

The situation was even more severe for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United needed a win themselves because a top-four place was looking increasingly hard to achieve. Even if they managed to win all of their remaining four games, the Red Devils could still miss out of a Champions League spot. The United coach made five changes to the team that lost 4-0 to Everton

De Gea continued in-goal, but Solskjaer reverted to a back five, consisting of Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Matteo Darmian, and Luke Shaw. The midfield had the unusual pairing of Fred, Andreas Pereira, and Pogba. Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford made up a front two.

United was the brighter of the two teams at the start of the game, but they could not trouble the visitors at all. The first half ended 0-0, but City picked up the pace in the second half. They took the lead through Bernardo Silva in the 54th minute. Leroy Sane doubled the lead in the 66th minute, as City won 2-0.

Here are 5 men who were extremely poor on the night and cost United the game.

#5 Fred

Manchester United v Manchester City - Premier League

The Brazilian was selected ahead of Matic to carry out the anchoring role in the middle of the park, but Fred never really took hold of the proceedings on the night. He was extremely slow on the ball and was also guilty of trying too hard at times.

The 26-year-old's outing was marred by miss-controls and miss-passes. The Brazilian was extremely poor in the center of the park and failed to carry out the job allotted to him. He could neither provide the defense with the necessary shield nor did he have any impact going forward. Fred failed to control the game from the middle of the park and allowed the City team to run riot past him.

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#4 David De Gea

The Spaniard has been under fire for a string of underwhelming performances of late, however, his qualities are unquestionable. David de Gea retained in his place in goal but had a derby to forget, as he conceded on his near post twice.

United had successfully kept the City attack at bay for the majority of the first half and had shown signs of stamping their authority on the game when Bernardo Silva dealt the home side with a blow. What seemed like a simple move turned into a nightmare when the Portuguese was allowed to turn inside and take a snapshot. De Gea failed to anticipate the move and was too late to react.

Only a few minutes later, United were caught off guard on a City counter and the ball fell to Leroy Sane on the left, who volleyed at the near post. De Gea attempted to save it with his feet, but the ball deflected into the goal instead.

#3 Ashley Young

Ashley Young returned to the first team as the right wingback, as Solskjaer opted for a back five to face a City side who were brilliant in their attacking play. Young was tasked with dealing with the dangerous Sterling and he did quite a good job of it at the start of the game. The United captain was even adventurous enough to join the team in the attack. The problem with him though, as it has been this season, was consistency.

The Englishman eventually drifted away from the game, losing the fight to Sterling and lacking intensity while going forward. United lost their attacking teeth as the 33-year-old went missing and they struggled to put any kinds of pressure on the opposition defense. And Sane’s inclusion was the final nail in the coffin for him.

Young found it hard to deal with the speed and technical abilities of the German winger. He suddenly appeared nervous and was totally at fault for the second goal. The Englishman was way out of his position as the ball was passed to Sane with acres of space to aim and shoot.

#2 Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford was picked up ahead of Romelu Lukaku once again by Solskjaer. Despite the Englishman’s recent poor performances, the Norwegian still harbored faith in his young forward. In truth, Rashford has the abilities to cause damage to any team in the world, but still lacks a bit of maturity in his gameplay. Solskjaer was hoping that against City, he will find his swagger again but that did not happen.

The Englishman started the game extremely well and was relentless in his pressing. His cross-field runs and speed caused City's defense a lot of problems. United looked threatening on the counter with Rashford running the lines, but the young striker never found the finish that this game needed.

Rashford could not carve out a clear cut chance and was once again guilty of being too selfish at times. His passing was also poor on a few occasions and he does not look like a finished product as of yet. The youngster's inability to have an impact in the final third cost United the game.

#1 Jesse Lingard

Solskjaer has been guilty of a few bizarre decisions in his short career as a United manager so far but perhaps nothing can explain his continued selection of Jesse Lingard, a player who offers very little on the field. Lingard has been one of the most underperforming players of this United side in recent games, yet found himself in the team sheet, partnering Marcus Rashford in the attack.

Perhaps the Norwegian had high pressing and counter-attack in his mind when he chose Lingard over Lukaku, but the Englishman had no positive impact whatsoever on the game. Lingard pressed relentlessly at the start of the game but that soon faded away. His inability to pick a pass and release the ball early saw quite a few counter attacks fail to flourish. He had a chance to unleash Rashford on a great breakaway but took too much time to carve out the final ball.

Lingard was also guilty of missing one easy chance to score with the open goal at his mercy. As Rashford fed in a cross, the City defense missed the ball and all United needed was a simple tap in. Unfortunately, the ball fell to Lingard, who fluffed his chances from close quarters.