Manchester United and Manchester City have been battling it out for years. In this article, we’ll take a look at the Manchester derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, the two teams that have been competing against each other for years.
- Pre-game analysis: Manchester United on the precipice
- Manchester City completely dominated the match.
- The first turning point in the game was when the first chance was taken.
- The second turning point is whether we could have taken advantage of the chance to tie the game.
- Turning Point 3: The leadership of both managers in the second half of the game.
Pre-game analysis: Manchester United on the precipice
This is a rivalry that Manchester United has dominated for years, but since the beginning of the 2010s, it has been a tight race as Manchester City has become more competitive after the Abu Dhabi Group took over the club.
In fact, in recent years, there is even a sense that the power relationship has reversed. In the last decade, Manchester City has won the Premier League five times (2011-12, 2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21), while Manchester United has won it just once (2012-13). In terms of league results, Manchester United is dominated by Manchester City.
This dominance can be seen in the head-to-head wins and losses. In the last 10 years, Manchester City has won more league matches than Manchester United, with a record of 11 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses. In the last 10 years, Manchester City has won 11, 3 and 6 of their league matches, and they have also won more derbies at home than their opponents, winning 6, 2 and 2.
This time around, the Manchester derby will be played at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, and the odds are against the home team.
What’s more, Manchester United has been in a bit of a funk lately. Despite a 3-0 win over Tottenham last week, Manchester United has lost just one game, two minutes, and three minutes in October. With rumors of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s dismissal on the horizon, can Manchester United beat their rivals? Let’s take a look at the starting lineup for both teams.
Manchester City completely dominated the match.
The Manchester derby was held at Manchester United’s home stadium, Old Trafford, with Manchester City beating the home team 2-0. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Manchester City completely dominated the game throughout the entire match.
Manchester City took the lead with an own goal in the 7th minute of the first half, and then added another goal in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Manchester City kept their opponents at bay in the second half, and the game ended with a score of 2-0. The score was 2-0, but I had the impression that the difference was much more than that.
A look at the detailed stats shows that this impression was not wrong.
Here is the table below.
| Manchester United | Manchester City | |
| 32.6％ | Possession | 67.40% |
| 1 | Number of shots in the frame | 5 |
| 5 | Shots on target | 16 |
| 547 | Touches of the ball | 977 |
| 400 | Number of passes | 832 |
| 18 | Tackles | 12 |
| 22 | Clears | 5 |
| 1 | Corner Kicks | 9 |
| 4 | Offside | 1 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 9 | Fouls | 12 |
Looking at the offensive indicators (possession, shots on frame, shots, touches, passes, and corner kicks), we can see that Manchester City is ahead in all of them. In particular, the number of touches on the ball and the number of passes are almost double those of Manchester United. So much so that Manchester City completely dominated the match.
So how did the game turn out to be so one-sided?
Let’s take a look at the three turning points that divided the match and try to figure out why.
The first turning point in the game was when the first chance was taken.
The first turning point came early in the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled and earned a free kick in the opponent’s territory. Kicker Luke Shaw put in an excellent cross into the penalty area, and Harry Maguire headed it in. But despite being free, Maguire’s shot went just wide of the goal.
Two minutes later, Manchester City had another chance.
Rodri picked up the ball and played it to Joao Cancelo, and the Portuguese defender put in a sharp cross into the area. The Portuguese defender then put in a sharp cross into the area, and Eric Bailly was unfortunate to see his attempt to clear it go wide. Manchester United were out of luck and conceded the first goal.
As it turned out, the game could have been a lot different if Manchester United had taken their chances in the first five minutes. If Manchester United had scored early in the first half (or at least not conceded a goal), they would have had the upper hand in the game, especially since the home team was aiming to draw their opponents into their own half and launch a long counter attack.
The second turning point is whether we could have taken advantage of the chance to tie the game.
The second turning point came again for the home team.
In the 26th minute of the first half, center back Bailly dribbled through the opposing press and passed to left back Shaw. In the 26th minute of the first half, center back Bailly dribbled through the opposition press and passed to left back Shaw, who put in an exquisite cross into the penalty area for C. Ronaldo to volley home with his left foot. It was blocked by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, but the ball rolled to the feet of Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood. The ball rolled to the feet of Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood, but in his haste, Greenwood missed the shot. There was no one in front of Greenwood, and the goal was empty. If he had kept his cool, the ball would have found the net.
After Manchester United had taken the lead, the ball had been completely dominated by Manchester City, but the home team had defended well and had not allowed any more goals. If they could have taken advantage of this chance, the game would have gone in Manchester United’s favor.
If Manchester United had been able to take advantage of these chances, the game would have gone in Manchester United’s favor.
Turning Point 3: The leadership of both managers in the second half of the game.
The last turning point was the leadership of both managers in the second half of the game. The difference between Sourshal, who moved aggressively, and Josep Guardiola, who did not make any substitutions, made a big difference in the game.
After a goal at the end of the first half left the score at 0-2, Sourshal started the second half with forward Jayden Sancho instead of center back Bailly.
Of course, with a two-goal deficit in the first half and a loss against a rival team, it was understandable to bring in an attacking player. However, the fact that Sancho is the one to play is questionable.
In the beginning of the second half, they had a 50-50 chance to win the ball, but after that, the away team pushed them into their own territory.
Sancho, who joined the club from Dortmund with much fanfare this season, has not scored a goal or assisted on any of his 13 official appearances. He has yet to make the impact that was expected of him. Sancho must have been overwhelmed with the task of turning the tide at a crucial moment of the season, the Manchester derby.
His subsequent substitutions did nothing to change the game. Manchester United lost the game without taking any initiative. On the other hand, Manchester City’s Guardiola, who had been managing the game well, did not make any changes until the end of the game. Guardiola, on the other hand, did not make any changes until the end of the game, and kept the flow of the game without changing his players.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the decisions of both managers had a great impact on the game.
