Man City Player Ratings vs. Man Utd: Title Challenge Battered in Shock Derby Defeat

Manchester City were subject to a chastening 2–0 defeat on derby day, as Michael Carrick outwitted Pep Guardiola on his return to management at Old Trafford.

The Cityzens had the chance to at least temporarily halve Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table ahead of the Gunners’ visit to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, but Mikel Arteta’s side now have the chance to extend that advantage to nine points instead.

This will serve as a major blow for Guardiola’s men, who were completely outmanouevred by their emboldened neighbours. City enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but were bereft of bite, while United were full of exuberance when they sprung forward on the counter-attack.

A weakened City backline, held together for an hour by the heroics of Gianluigi Donnarumma, eventually caved, as United scored twice in quick succession to deservedly take the game away from the flat visitors. A title charge looks beyond this group of players, who are now winless in four league outings.

Man City Player Ratings vs. Man City (4-1-4-1)

*Player ratings provided by Fotmob*

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—6.7: Eventually bypassed, but Donnarumma made a string of excellent saves to keep the game at 0–0.

RB: Rico Lewis—6.5: Operated in midfield for the most part, but was pretty ineffective. Booked in the second half.

CB: Abdukodir Khusanov—7.0: Some of his recovery defending was superb, but Khusanov failed to inspire calm into this City defence.

CB: Max Alleyne—6.4: The youngster struggled to settle into the contest, especially with the ball at his feet, and he was withdrawn at half-time.

LB: Nathan Aké—6.4: A messy showing was epitomised by his work late on against Amad Diallo, who came ever so close to adding a third for the hosts.

DM: Rodri—7.4: It’s been an injury-hit campaign so far for Rodri, and the midfielder who stepped out at Old Trafford looked like a shell of the Ballon d’Or-winning superstar from two seasons ago.

RM: Antoine Semenyo—7.0: The January arrival’s quick start to life in Manchester was tamed by City’s fiercest rivals. Semenyo offered a threat throughout but wasn’t able to service those in the box.

CM: Bernardo Silva—6.2: His efforts to calm down proceedings did work early on, but Bernardo was often outmuscled, and he struggled to have any impact in the half-spaces.

CM: Phil Foden—6.4: Loves this fixture but was smothered at Old Trafford. Foden wasn’t given any room to breathe between the lines, and Guardiola turned to Rayan Cherki for the second half.

LM: Jérémy Doku—6.6: City’s liveliest player early, as he so often is, but Doku, despite playing against a booked Diogo Dalot for most of it, didn’t take over the contest as he teased to do.

ST: Erling Haaland—5.9: His quiet run of form continued across town. Haaland had just one sight of goal, which the sticky and rugged Lisandro Martínez blocked.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Rayan Cherki (46’ for Foden)	6.1
Nico O’Reilly (46’ for Alleyne)	6.1
Rayan Aït-Nouri (80’ for Doku)	5.7
Tijjani Reijnders (80’ for Bernardo)	6.4
Divine Mukasa (80’ for Haaland)	5.8

Subs not used: James Trafford (GK), Marcus Betinelli (GK), Stephen Mfuni, Ryan McAidoo.

Man Utd (4-2-4)

Starting XI: Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo; Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Dorgu.

Subs used: Matheus Cunha, Manuel Ugarte, Mason Mount, Ayden Heaven.

Player of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)

Man City Player of the Match: Rodri

Man Utd 2–0 Man City—How It Unfolded at Old Trafford

Erling Haaland — Haaland was withdrawn late on. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola’s fear of the unknown was evident in his pre-match interview, with the Man City boss having much preferred to prepare for Michael Carrick’s Red Devils a few games into the interim manager’s second stint at Old Trafford.

First up, Guardiola didn’t know what to expect, and his makeshift backline was certainly jittery in the opening stages. Man Utd’s fluid 4-2-4, not too dissimilar to what Arne Slot adopted at the Etihad last season, sought to overload Rodri at the base of midfield and leave City’s defenders with no one to mark.

The visitors struggled to get to grips with Carrick’s ploy, but their experienced heads took it upon themselves to take the sting out of the game early. Rodri and Bernardo Silva aimed to get on the ball as much as possible and veer City into a state of familiarity. Still, while they were able to dominate possession for much of the first half, United looked far more dangerous when they broke.

Erling Haaland was a bystander as Jérémy Doku huffed and puffed with little reward, while Phil Foden was crowded out against a compact United block. City’s best chance came from a set-piece, when Lammens denied young Max Alleyne, and they were fortunate to enter the interval all-square.

Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola — Not a good day for Haaland. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

United had two goals ruled out due to mightily tight offside calls towards the end of the opening period, and there was a sense that a reshuffle was needed from Pep after the restart to combat the Red Devils’ increasing confidence.

A double-change at the break saw Nico O’Reilly and Rayan Cherki enter proceedings, but their introductions did little to inspire a change in dynamic. United remained content with their neighbours enjoying more of the ball, knowing that there was ample space to run into whenever possession was turned over.

City had Gianluigi Donnarumma to thank for preserving the stalemate, as he made fine saves to deny Bryan Mbuemo, Amad Diallo and Casemiro from breaking the deadlock. However, the Italian was powerless to stop Mbeumo rounding off a vintage Man Utd counter-attack reminiscent of the sequences Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo produced all those years ago.

This time, Mbeumo combined with Fernandes to hand the hosts a deserved lead.

And instead of Old Trafford being subject to a fierce Sky Blue response, United came again. O’Reilly was outworked by Matheus Cunha, who crossed brilliantly for Patrick Dorgu. Arriving late and catching Rico Lewis off guard, the Dane finished smartly off the post. 2–0.

City’s surrender was signalled by Erling Haaland’s withdrawal with ten minutes remaining, as United cantered to a memorable victory that would’ve looked even more one-sdided had Amad not seen a late strike rebound off the post, or Mason Mount’s third stood.

This was their day, Carrick’s derby, and it’s surely now Arsenal’s Premier League title too.

Man Utd vs. Man City Half-Time Stats

Statistic	Man Utd	Man City
Possession	28%	72%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.38	0.32
Total Shots	4	4
Shots on Target	2	1
Big Chances	1	0
Pass Accuracy	82%	92%
Fouls	7	4
Corners	1	3

Man Utd vs. Man City Full Time Stats

Statistic	Man Utd	Man City
Possession	32%	68%
Expected Goals (xG)	2.03	0.45
Total Shots	11	7
Shots on Target	7	1
Big Chances	6	0
Pass Accuracy	79%	90%
Fouls	13	8
Corners	1	6