Manchester City News: Manchester is once again Blue. The Citizens performed the double over their city rivals with a massive 4-1 victory.
Pep Guardiola’s side was clearly the better team on paper, and on the field at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Kevin De Bruyne and Riyadh Mahrez grabbed a brace each, as they continued their lead in the Premier League.
Manchester United, on the other hand, scored a solitary goal in the first half, through their summer signing, Jadon Sancho. Despite going into the halftime interval at 2-1 down, the Red Devils showed some good football.
It was only through a quick counter-attack that United scored their only goal, catching out Manchester City’s defence. Pogba and Fernandes linked up brilliantly, as Jadon Sancho carried the ball himself to score with a beautifully curled effort.
Manchester City News: City’s overall brilliance was too much for Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United
However, all of this changed in the second period, as City stepped up their game, and Ralf Rangnick’s side chased shadows for the entire 45 minutes. Rangnick’s strategy of pressing high up the pitch backfired badly, as his side lost steam towards the end, and wilted easily.
While United played with a 4-2-2-2, Pep Guardiola did not experiment much and employed his tried and tested formation. Rangnick also did not use Cristiano Ronaldo, who seemingly is nursing a slight injury.
The Red Devils were quick in their counter-attacks but despite their double pivot of McTominay and Fred left themselves vulnerable in defence. City had no such problems of their own, as their fluidity came to the fore yet again.
Many former players and football pundits, were critical of United’s formation change in such a big match. Gary Neville was one of them as he simply couldn’t wrap his head around Ralf Rangnick’s tactics.
The former United man said, “Looking at the position of Fernandes and Pogba, it’s a strange one. It looks like a 4-2-2-2 but Sancho and Elanga are too wide.”
Pep Guardiola showed yet again what a master tactician he is. The footballing display was also a testament to the footballing style he has created over the years at City.
Things started to look a bit difficult for Manchester City, after their 3-2 defeat against Tottenham a couple of weeks back. However, they have pulled it back in their favour with two back to back wins.
Manchester City is still the favourite to lift the Premier League this season, as they hold a six-point lead over second-placed Liverpool with 10 games remaining.
