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Manchester City won their consecutive 11th league game against Manchester United today while displaying some breath-taking football. The last defeat for City came in the hands of Newcastle United back in January.
The men-in-blue had a sluggish start to the game as Rashford and Lingard were outrunning Kompany and creating problems in the defense. However, the second half witnessed a tactical change after Fernandinho was forced out due to an injury and replaced by Leroy Sane. Sane joined the forwards alongside Aguero and Sterling, while Gundogan filled the void created by Fernandinho.
This triggered an instant attacking game-style. Gundogan got a free role in the center of the park due to which Man City stitched some sophisticated passes creating many glorious moves. Shortly, Bernardo Silva scored the opening goal, wrong-footing the United defense with a near-post shot.
After the first goal, City started moving the ball around beautifully and on the 66th-minute mark, Sane doubled the score courtesy of a well-struck shot which seemed to be De Gea's regular save but somehow crept in through the goalkeeper.
City are now 1 point ahead of 2nd placed Liverpool with 3 games to go. City will go to Burnley on 28th April followed by Leicester on 7th May with the last league match against Brighton on 12th May. With just 1 point separating the top 2, it will be an exciting end to the season.
Manchester United have now lost 6 of their 8 games in all competitions and haven't scored in the previous 4 matches while conceding 13 goals. United's defensive problems carry on this season and even after having one of the best goalkeepers guard the goal, the clean sheet record is not one to show off.
The Champions League spot might well be in United's hopes as they are just 3 points adrift from the 4th position, currently held by Chelsea. In fact, they welcome Chelsea on Monday to the Old Trafford, a fixture that promises fireworks.
As Manchester City rip Manchester United apart in today's derby win, here are 5 hits and flops from the game based on their contribution and performance:
#5 Hit: Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba was at the heart of United team as always, creating numerous chances and broadening the game-play with his long range in passing. He was pivotal in the squad as he created many chances for Rashford and Lingard. His over-the-top ball in the first half which almost lead to goal was a thing to admire but only lacked a good composed finish which Lingard couldn't provide.
Pogba would fall back to help out his defence at times, and the very next moment he would drive the game up front, moving the ball around and trying to make an opening. He moved a lot on the pitch and was literally seen everywhere asking for a pass and trying to create a move. However, the players around him couldn't match his frequency and he was left stranded.
He also took a couple of shots on goal, one which got deflected and almost fell into the path of Rashford but City's Ederson was aware of the danger and came off his line quickly to collect the ball.
Overall, Pogba was the best player in the United shirt in this match and his passing was excellent too.
#4 Flop: Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany started the game wearing the armband, yet looked quite under-confident and dusty. Since the start, he looked lethargic, earning a yellow card inside the first 10 minutes of the match. He was continuously beaten by the pace of Marcus Rashford and needed help from his compatriot Kyle Walker in order to stop Rashford's run and dribbles.
Kompany's world-class mentality and leadership skill were completely shut by the United attack which was simply too fast for him. He even tugged off Rashford who was chasing a long ball beyond him. Realising the pace of the youngster, Kompany held his jersey and threw him onto the ground in a subtle way and even got away with it; Only to be yellow carded few minutes after for blocking Rashford on purpose without any challenge on the ball.
Kompany's second-half performance wasn't as bad as earlier but still wasn't near his own standards. He was involved much less and did not face any real problems from United's attack.
Overall, this wasn't Kompany's better games as he's surely had better. He just needs to dust his shoulders and get back to his full form in the last three crucial matches.
#3 Hit: Ilkay Gundogan
Ilkay Gundogan put on his one of the better performances for the Cityzens as he was instrumental in the build-up play. He started the match on the right-hand side along with Fernandinho in the middle and Bernardo Silva on the right wing just ahead of him. The first half did not go according to plan, and Gundogan was poor generally.
However, the game changed in the second half when Fernandinho got substituted and Gundogan replaced him in his position. CIty seemed as though they had found new life, stitching some beautiful passes together and creating open goal chances. This was all the courtesy of one man, Ilkay Gundogan, who was commanding the midfield as a general picking up the right passes each time he distributed the ball. He continued performing throughout, only to be replaced by Danilo towards the end.
Gundogan drove the whole team towards victory, a feat he achieves more often than not but doesn't get enough credit for it.
#2 Flop: David De Gea
This was one of the worst nights for the Spanish international who is considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at this moment. de Gea was very poor in goal as he made many unlikely mistakes at the back.
He played calmly in the first half, clearing the ball and picking the right passes. However the game changed when Bernardo Silva took a rather tamed shot towards the near post and he didn't react in time to stop it from getting in. The second goal made things worse as it came straight at him and looked like a routine save considering his quality. Instead, it went in via a deflection off his leg.
de Gea hasn't been up to the mark in recent games. His performance against Barcelona in the Champions League was something he would be ashamed of as the ball went through his arms from Messi's right-footed shot.
He is enduring an uncharacteristic sticky spell at the moment and fans can only hope it won't last too long.
#1 Hit: Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva literally owned the game in every sense. From passing to dribbling to movement off the ball, everything was just perfect about this Portuguese man.
Silva started on the right wing alongside Aguero and Sterling in the attack. His movement with and off the ball created a lot of problem for the United defence from the start. He managed to come close several times in the first half and was often driving the ball into the 6-yard area.
But he earned his goal in the second half. Silva dribbled around Luke Shaw on the right flank, opened his body to take a shot which seemed to go towards the far post but drove it onto the near post catching almost everyone by surprise. De Gea couldn't anticipate the shot while Luke Shaw tried to block the shot but failed in doing so. The shot found the corner of the net and Silva opened the deadlock with it.
Bernardo Silva had a fantastic game throughout and displayed a towering performance. No wonder he was named as the Man of the Match. A feat truly deserved by the Portuguese superstar.
