Premier League
United superstars vs City team ethic: How the 186th Manchester derby will be won
Man City take their pure co-operative team to take on Manchester United’s superstar tendency in the 186th meeting of the two clubs.
The two teams heading into the 186th Manchester derby are both riven with contradictions that it makes the season ahead wholly unpredictable.
Manchester United are a team of individual talents who have become reliant on the one individual who, more than any other, makes them weaker as a team.
Manchester City are a team in the purest sense of the word but who, when push comes to shove, have shown the need for a goalscorer, missing the individuality of Sergio Aguero.
Never in the history of this grand old game have the two sides been such polar opposites, in terms of their approach to the football they play.
The Blues have been winning games, and occasionally losing them, this season, because they failed to land a proven goalscoring striker in the summer.
United have been winning some, and losing some, precisely because they did.
It is not entirely unprecedented. In fact, United have won three of the last four derbies, against a patently superior City team, simply because their individuals shone on the day, and City’s team system malfunctioned.
It is just that now the Reds have the ultimate individual in Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who lets others do the donkey work and then justifies that by sticking the ball in the net.
City had a brief dalliance with the notion of signing Ronaldo in the summer, although large sections of their support were solidly against it, partly because they learned to loathe the preening superstar in his first spell at Old Trafford, but also because his brand of ‘me-me’ football is the complete antithesis of everything Pep Guardiola has built at City.
Guardiola’s opinions on whether the Blues should have signed the Portugal ace are closely guarded, but it is easy to imagine he was sorely conflicted — knowing that having no proven goalscorers would impede City this season, but also knowing that a player like Ronaldo could disrupt the smooth running of his beautiful Blue machine.
The thought of him trying to persuade 36-year-old Ronaldo to tear up his script and knuckle down to some serious pressing and approach work. as Guardiola did with Sergio Aguero, is enough to make any supporter shudder.
But the fact is, as the Old Trafford clash approaches, if City play to their full capacity, the only thing that would stop them winning the game is failing to finish the chances they create.
It has happened plenty of times this season — Tottenham, Southampton, Paris St Germain, West Ham, Crystal Palace — and they have found it tough against teams that sit in, defend hard, and seek to counter with pace.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not come across as one of the game’s great tactical thinkers. But he will have recognised that his team were walloped by Liverpool because they tried to change overnight from a team that needs to dig in against superior outfits, rather than fall into the trap of trying to get in the faces of better players.
Their attempts to press Liverpool high left them wide open — and in the unlikely event that they repeat that mistake, a repeat scoreline could be on the cards against City.
United are far more likely to revert to the approach that has seen them defy the odds and rack up three wins and a draw in the last four Premier League derbies.
They will do what Palace did, defend deep and with strict discipline, and then seek to release the pace and talents of Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani with swift counters.
The United “DNA”, we are told, is about attacking football — the Stretford End have never replaced their old “Attack, attack, attack!” chant with one that nervously requests “Adopt a low block, keep the full-backs tucked in and defend the crosses!”
They tried to indulge that against Liverpool and were exposed and ruthlessly punished. They will have learned a hard lesson and will have to play as the underdogs, rather than try to match City for quality across the pitch.
City’s task is to do the opposite — to stick to their usual game plan, stifling the opposition, pinning them back with pressing that appears frenetic but is actually highly drilled — as they did against Chelsea.
That is what the Blues need. In recent games they have allowed the intensity and organisation of their press to drop a level, and it has cost them.
Their problem is that the game falls within the 72-hour shadow following the Brugge game, in which sports science dictates that a player’s physical and mental recovery is incomplete.
That will partly be offset by the return of rested players like Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias, but key players in the regaining and retention of the ball like Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Phil Foden will be asked to go again.
If City get that aspect of their game right, as they did at Stamford Bridge, and take the chances that come their way, they should win the game.
United by contrast, will rely on being able to soak up the pressure, release their match-winners, and then hope that individuals — and Ronaldo in particular — can be as ruthless as he has in the last few weeks.
-MEN
Premier League
Manchester United tighten hold on third in the Premier League with win over Aston Villa
Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha buried a second‑half strike off a pinpoint through ball from Bruno Fernandes for a club-record 16th Premier League assist in a season to lift the hosts to a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Casemiro and substitute Benjamin Sesko scored United’s other goals in a result that tightened United’s grip on third place in the standings on 54 points after 30 games, while fourth-placed Villa have 51 points.
United, who were playing their first game in 11 days, were keen for a victory after interim boss Michael Carrick’s seven-game unbeaten run ended in a 2-1 loss to 10-man Newcastle United on March 4.
With 22 points from a possible 27 under Carrick’s leadership, Sunday’s win will invariably lead to more questions about his chances of becoming United’s permanent manager.
“It was a slightly different game today going into it being so close in the league and making the small jump we could if we won, off the back of a defeat,” Carrick said. “It was a small test and we haven’t really had that.
“The boys dealt with it really well, had a really good week and applied themselves well. Everything is so so encouraging. We’ve got a lot to play for.”
The game looked headed for a draw before Cunha scored from the left side of the box in the 71st minute, with Fernandes recording his 100th assist for the club across all competitions.
With eight games left, Fernandes is also four shy of matching the Premier League record for assists in one season of 20 held by Thierry Henry (2002-03) and Kevin de Bruyne (2019-20).
“He’s had so many big moments, to score a goal, to make a pass,” Carrick said of Fernandes. “Training or games, he’s always there. Really good with the corner. The pass to Matheus was fantastic to cap off a good performance all around.”
Sesko put the game out of reach 10 minutes later with a blistering shot from the centre of the box.
Casemiro put United ahead in the 53rd minute with a glancing header from a Fernandes corner.
Ross Barkley levelled in the 64th with a shot from the middle of the area. After a lengthy VAR check to determine whether the ball glanced off an offside Amadou Onana, the goal stood.
A better second half salvaged a decent game after a dreary first 45 minutes plagued by errant passes and slipping players.
United did have some decent first-half chances including a header from Amad Diallo that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stretched backwards to keep out of the net. Diogo Dalot had a terrific chance inside the box that he launched over the bar.
Leny Yoro’s block spoiled one of Villa’s best chances and led to a long-range shot from Fernandes at the other end that he sent just wide of the post.
Villa have not won a league game since February 11, and an animated manager Unai Emery spent much of the afternoon stomping his feet and waving his arms in frustration.
“How we are progressing after we did fantastic months in October, November, December, the last two months we are struggling,” Emery said. “It’s Manchester United here at home, and they are now in good moment. And of course, they played a very intelligent match.
“I think we can get better. The result at the end was a bad result for us. We must accept it and try to analyse now to get better for the next challenge.”
-Reuters
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England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence by a Greek court over a 2020 incident in Mykonos, Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.
In 2020, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery and violence against public employees after his arrest in a brawl in which two police officers were assaulted.
Maguire, who was detained for two days following the incident and denied any wrongdoing, was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but was granted a full retrial after appealing against Greek court convictions on multiple charges.
In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing nullified Maguire’s conviction before a full retrial in a more senior court. His retrial was postponed many times.
Maguire faced allegations of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery. The 32-year-old was convicted on all three counts but will face no prison time. His legal team will appeal against the guilty verdict, Sky Sports reported.
Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty of offences related to the incident and received suspended prison sentences in 2020. They also denied any wrongdoing.
-Reuters
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Arsenal maintained control of the Premier League title race as they chiselled out a nervy 2-1 win over London rivals Chelsea to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table on Sunday.
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute header from a Declan Rice corner ensured Arsenal took three precious points, but it was a nervy afternoon in north London.
Mikel Arteta’s side moved to 64 points from 29 games, with Manchester City, who have played a game fewer, on 59.
Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber celebrates scoring their second goal with Gabriel Magalhaes REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Defender William Saliba had given Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute from a trademark corner routine.
But it had looked as though an own goal by Piero Hincapie just before halftime would prove costly for the hosts until Timber came to their rescue.
Chelsea, whose six-match unbeaten league sequence under new manager Liam Rosenior was halted, ended the match with 10 men after Pedro Neto was sent off for a second yellow card.
-Reuters
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