(Football news) Marcus Rashford’s incredible 25-yard goal in the eighth minute gave the Red Devils a commanding lead in the 192nd Manchester derby. Despite having 74% of the possession, 18 shots on goal, and 12 corners, Manchester City trailed at the half.
After the break, though, the Citizens kept up their dominance, and their tenacity in the closing third paid off as local hero Phil Foden scored an incredible brace and Erling Haaland completed the crucial victory for Pep Guardiola’s team in stoppage time.
With the win, Manchester City, who is still in second place in the Premier League standings, closes the gap to leaders Liverpool, who defeated Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Saturday even though they had to play extra time.
As for Manchester United, back-to-back league defeats – including last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Fulham – leaves Erik ten Hag’s men sitting sixth in the table, with their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread as they are 11 points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth with 11 games left to play.
After putting Luton Town to the sword 6-2 in the FA Cup on Tuesday, Guardiola opted to make five changes to his starting lineup for Sunday’s clash, with Ederson, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Foden and Jeremy Doku all handed recalls, while Josko Gvardiol made a welcomed return to the matchday squad after missing the last six games with an ankle injury.
As for Manchester United, Ten Hag made just the two changes to the side that beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the FA Cup on Wednesday, with Kobbie Mainoo and Jonny Evans returning at the expense of Antony and Sofyan Amrabat.
Man City began on the front foot, and shortly after Foden had the game’s first attempt on goal diverted over for a corner, the hosts screamed for a penalty when John Stones burst into the box and hit the deck after colliding with Casemiro, but their appeals were swiftly waved away.
City’s early dominance counted for nothing, though, as Manchester United took the lead in remarkable fashion when Rashford unleashed a rocket from distance that flew past Ederson in off the crossbar.
Andre Onana began the attack when he launched a route-one kick from his own box towards the forward run of Bruno Fernandes, who held up the ball well on the edge of the area before teeing up Rashford to smack an exquisite first-time strike from 25 yards into the top corner – ending his five-game drought without a goal.
Roared on by the Etihad faithful, Manchester City responded well and came close to a leveller on the 15-minute mark when the ball bounced from left to right into the path of Foden inside the area, but his right-footed effort was saved well by the outstretched boot of Onana.
City were then given a huge let-off at the other end as Dias slipped on the halfway line to allow Fernandes to play Rashford through on goal; the Englishman had plenty of ground to cover but he was unable to get the ball under control and Kyle Walker raced back to regain possession.
In just a few seconds, Foden found himself breaking through on goal and into acres of space down the right channel, but Onana again foiled City’s No. 47’s attempt by getting down well and making himself large to make a low stop.
The Red Devils defence held firm as a blocked shot from Rodri, a sliced effort from Doku, and an off-target header from Haaland all failed to threaten Onana’s goal. City, who had over 70% of the possession and nine corners in the first thirty minutes, had United parked in and around their penalty area as they looked for an early lead.
Also read: Liverpool will play Nottingham Forest in EPL
