Rohan Sengupta
Full Time: Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United
Manchester United came back from 2-0 down to beat Manchester City 3-2 and delay their march to the Premier League title.
Pep Guardiola’s side appeared to be on course to seal the league title with a record six games to spare when they cruised into a 2-0 half-time lead.
Vincent Kompany’s thumping header broke the deadlock before Ilkay Gundogan doubled the home side’s lead five minutes later.
Yet, City spurned a lot of chances in the first-half, failing to deliver the knockout blow to United. Sterling had two golden chances during that spell in the first half. Those missed chances came back to haunt City as they let a two-goal lead slip.
Paul Pogba scored two goals between the 53rd and 56th minute to get United back on level terms before Chris Smalling scored the winner from an Alexis Sanchez free-kick, handing City a second straight defeat in all competitions.
Sterling hit the post and David De Gea saved a Sergio Aguero effort in what was a frantic last five minutes but United held on to secure three crucial points, successfully delaying City’s title celebration.
It was an absolute humdinger and is a Manchester derby that would be remembered for years to come.
Manchester United Player ratings
David De Gea – 8/10
De Gea had no chance in City’s goals and made a decent stop to deny Bernardo Silva in the first-half. In the last five minutes, he made himself big and pulled off an incredible save to deny Sergio Aguero.
Antonio Valencia – 5/10
Valencia wasn’t adventurous going forward as he had to deal with the nippy Leroy Sane, which he did well. However, his clearance gifted City the corner from which Vincent Kompany scored the opener.
Chris Smalling – 7/10
It was an eventful day for Chris Smalling. Was at fault for Kompany’s goal but attained redemption by scoring United’s winning goal.
Eric Bailly – 6/10
Bailly was poor in the first-half but improved massively after the break and helped United to a big win.
Ashley Young – 5/10
Saved a certain goal in the first-half but endured a torrid time against Sterling. He worked diligently and his challenge on Aguero is a debatable topic.
Nemanja Matic – 6/10
He was ineffective in the first-half as City players took utmost advantage of his immobility. Improved vastly in the second half and offered a perfect cushion to United’s back-line when City threw the kitchen sink.
Ander Herrera – 5/10
Herrera was very poor in the first half as he was all over the place. He improved in the second-half and was tidy in possession.
Paul Pogba – 9/10
Paul Pogba was anonymous in the first-half, just like his teammates. However, his second-half response was simply magnificent. Two goals in quick succession turned the game on its head and such kind of displays are expected from him, week in and week out.
Jesse Lingard – 6/10
Lingard had very little influence on the game in the first-half but his movement and awareness changed after the break. He was more involved and kept City’s defenders on their toes.
Alexis Sanchez – 7/10
Sanchez was off the boil in United’s calamitous first-half display. However, the Chilean was the chief architect of United’s revival after the break.
Romelu Lukaku – 6/10
Can’t blame Lukaku for his first-half display as he regularly chased shadows and lacked the supply. The big Belgian looked more involved and lively after United started to threaten.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford – N/A
Didn’t have enough time to make an impact.
Scott McTominay – N/A
Came on to pack the midfield.
Victor Lindelof – N/A
He was sent on in the added time as Jose tried to see off the game.
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