Manchester City hosted Manchester United on Sunday afternoon for the city’s grand derby.
Coming into the game, the Cityzens were unbeaten at home for the last 18 games, while no visiting side had been able to stop Pep Guardiola’s men from scoring there for 54 games. Scoring against their rivals would see them equal their record of scoring in 55 home games in a row, which they set between January of 2012 and January of 2014. They had also won four out of their last five encounters against United, losing only one.
United travelled to the blue side of the city placed sixth in the table, having lost an alarming ten games this season. In just two Premier League campaigns have they lost more than ten: losing 12 games in both 13/14 and 21/22. David Moyes was sacked midway through 13/14 and Ralf Rangnick was only allowed to finish 21/22 to avoid more controversy. The Red Devils also lost both of their last two visits to Etihad, conceding 10 goals in the process.
Pep Guardiola made five changes to the team that knocked Luton Town out of the FA Cup. Ederson gained his spot back, while Ruben Dias returned to his post at the heart of the defence, at the expense of Manuel Akanji. Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish were left out to make way for Rodri, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
Ten Hag only made two changes to the squad that beat Nottingham Forest in the the FA Cup. Sofyan Amrabat made way for Jonny Evans and Antony was named on the bench to make way for Kobbie Mainoo.
Ten Hag’s usual structure was under jeopardy because of Rasmus Höjlund’s absence through injury. With Anthony Martial already injured, the choice of who to play up front loomed large. Due to these circumstances, Bruno Fernandes was deployed as the central attacker.
Obviously aiming to scatter the backline of City, Fernandes roamed freely inside the final third and repeatedly drifted into wider areas of the pitch. Their strategy seemed to be attracting City’s press, only to go long via Andre Onana’s kicks, allowing Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Fernandes to run in behind. I
This approach bore fruit via a wonder-strike from Rashford. Fernandes was able to stay onside while playing on the shoulder of the last man, and he was found by André Onana.
Following Fernandes’ control, Scott McTominay made a surging run forward and dragged Rodri with him, leaving the central zone unoccupied.
Bruno rolls the ball to Rashford arriving late, who then scores a magnificent goal from 20 yards out.
Rashford’s goal meant that Manchester City had gone behind for the 12th game this season. The only time they had trailed in more games was the 19/20 campaign with 13 games, which was the last season Guardiola’s men failed to win the title. They also hadn’t beaten United in the last 29 fixtures where they went behind.
Yet these statistics offered no consolation for the visiting side, as the hosts took complete control of the game after going down. Through their high and intense pressing, they gained control of the ball and started to pile on the pressure.
Ten Hag’s plan to restrict City’s offensive activity was to form a narrow, structured 4-4-2 off the ball. McTominay pushed forward alongside the focal point Fernandes, and the duo aimed to control the tandem of John Stones and Rodri.
Man-marking midfielders is a trademark of Erik Ten Hag’s defensive play and that’s what Guardiola exploited to break down United’s narrow structure. By putting Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne into wider and more advanced positions up the pitch, he aimed to pin Casemiro and Mainoo in deeper positions, therefore leaving a gap in the centre of the pitch for City to play through. Stones was tasked with occupying that space and played in a more advanced position to make the most of this opportunity.
Pep’s strategy worked nearly perfectly, bypassing United’s players. As the 42nd minute arrived City had 177 passes in the opposition’s final third to United’s 22. They were able to penetrate United’s defence numerous times, yet Foden wasn’t able to capitalise as he saw his many shots saved or blocked.
City’s strongest chance came through this formula too. In the 45th minute Doku found Rodri in that same gap Casemiro and Mainoo left in the centre.
Rodri then brilliantly found Foden at the back post, who headed the ball inside for Erling Haaland to tap in from two yards out. Unlike himself, Norwegian skied his tap-in over the bar and United somehow managed to hold onto their lead as the first half ended.
Despite being completely outplayed by Guardiola’s men, the Red Devils must have found some encouragement from the fact that they were unbeaten in their last 143 games (W123, D20) where they led at the break. The last side to come back to win after trailing at the break against United were Leicester City in 2014.
Ten Hag made adjustments in an attempt to disrupt this utter dominance, instructing his players not to get dragged away while carrying out their marking duties. Better occupation of the centre didn’t stop City from dominating most of the ball, but their chances diminished significantly.
Yet City’s equaliser came through this adjustment. Crowding out the centre of the pitch created gaps in the wide areas. In the 56th minute, right after Rashford lost his footing against Kyle Walker in a 1-on-1 situation, City progressed the ball. Rashford didn’t track back due to his frustration and left Foden alone against Lindelöf.
Foden dragged the ball inside from the flank, leaving Lindelöf in his wake, and proceeded to smash the ball home from outside of the box.
Three minutes after the equaliser, Doku made way for Julian Alvarez. This change pushed Bernardo to the left flank, allowing Alvarez to play in the middle.
Ten minutes later, Jonny Evans made way for youngster Willy Kambwala, seeing Diogo Dalot switch to the left. In the 74th minute Antony was brought on for Rashford, which saw Garnacho shift to the left flank.
At around the 75th minute, Foden was seen waving his arms at Bernardo to switch flanks. This allowed Foden to interchange with Alvarez, creating a series of dynamic movements, and this plan came to fruition in the 80th minute. After Kambwala moved wide to pressure De Bruyne, he left a gap between him and Raphaël Varane. Casemiro then pushed forward to control Foden, only to get passed around by him and Alvarez, working their way into the United box.
Foden drilled a low shot past Onana, pushing City ahead.
After the goal, Ten Hag took off Garnacho and Mainoo for Sofyan Amrabat and Omari Forson in an attempt to add some dynamism to his side, but after an uneventful ten minutes came City’s closer. Their press forced Amrabat into a mistake, then Rodri found Haaland inside United’s box, and the Norwegian doubled City’s lead in injury time.
An extremely important win, this extreme dominance pushed City back within one point of the league leaders Liverpool ahead of their clash at Anfield.
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