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
Liverpool will have to wait for a few more days to be crowned Premier League champions despite a 1-0 victory at Leicester City after Arsenal kept their slender hopes just about alive with a 4-0 romp at 10-man Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold came off the bench to score Liverpool’s winner in the 76th minute at the King Power Stadium to restore their 13-point lead at the top with five games left.
While Liverpool can almost taste a record-equalling 20th English crown, Leicester’s defeat confirmed their relegation back to the Championship after just one season.
The Midlands club have now been relegated from England’s top flight a record 13 times.
Chelsea secured a massive win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League as they came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage with Pedro Neto scoring in stoppage time.
The win pushed Chelsea above Nottingham Forest in to fifth place, the last spot for qualification to the Champions League, although Forest play at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday.
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two behind third-placed Newcastle United and one behind Manchester City. Forest and Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on 57 points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers guaranteed their safety as they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free kick wrapped up a fifth successive league win, the first time Wolves have achieved that in the top flight since 1970.
Liverpool were wasteful at Leicester with numerous chances going begging and Mohamed Salah suffering a frustrating afternoon including hitting both posts with an early shot.
Salah hit the woodwork again moments before the ball came out to Alexander-Arnold who fired a left-footed shot through the crowd to give his side the points — ripping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with the travelling fans.
“We just keep going, mentally we’re really strong,” manager Arne Slot, whose side could be crowned champions if Arsenal lose at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy playing football and it helps when you are playing for something special. Today (Alexander-Arnold) knows when it matters most he can just bring a bit more which is something all the top, top players have.”
DISTANT SECOND
If Arsenal avoid defeat by Palace, Slot’s side will seal the title if they beat Tottenham Hotspur at home next Sunday.
“We will focus on Tottenham and looking forward again to a home game and I think the stadium will be full,” Slot, who can become the first Dutch manager to win the English title, said. “It’s a nice game to look forward to.”
Liverpool have 79 points with Arsenal a distant second on 66. Arsenal may have their eyes now on a Champions League semi-final against Paris St Germain, but they showed against Ipswich they will not hand over the title to Liverpool.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring early on and Gabriel Martinelli made it 2-0 after a delightful flick by Mikel Merino.
Ipswich were reduced to 10 men before halftime as Leif Davis crudely raked his studs down the back of Bukayo Saka’s calf and the second half was academic.
Trossard grabbed his second in the 69th minute and Ethan Nwaneri added a late fourth to leave Ipswich stuck in 18th place on 21 points. They will be relegated if they drop points again or 17th-placed West Ham United pick up one more point from their remaining five games.
Chelsea were heading for a damaging defeat at neighbours Fulham as the hosts led with Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute goal.
Substitute Tyrique George equalised with an instinctive shot in the 83rd minute, his first Premier League goal, before winger Neto swivelled and unleashed a thunderous strike in stoppage time to send the away fans wild.
Manchester United reached the Europa League semi-final with an astonishing comeback win against French club Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday but their Premier League woes returned against Wolves.
They are in 14th place and have now lost eight Premier League home games this season, their most defeats at Old Trafford in a league campaign since 1962-63.
“Wolves scored in the only opportunity they had. we had many chances, and we didn’t score. If you don’t score goals, you are not going to win games,” manager Ruben Amorim said.
-Reuters
Egyptian outlet, Ahram, has reported that Mohamed Salah has signed a new contract with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield beyond the 2024-25 season as he prepares for what could be the final chapter of a storied career with the club.
While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, British media reports indicate the 32-year-old forward has signed a two-year extension, keeping him at the club until at least 2027.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017, has become a modern-day icon at Anfield.
The Egyptian international has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances—third on the club’s all-time scorers list—and has helped the Reds secure seven major trophies, including the Premier League and Champions League titles.
“I had my best years here,” Salah told the club’s website. “Hopefully it’s going to be 10. I signed because I believe we can still win big trophies together.”
He has maintained his prolific form this season, scoring 32 goals and providing 22 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. His 27 Premier League goals currently lead the division.
During his time with Liverpool, Salah has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, been named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and claimed two FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
Now entering the latter stages of his career, Salah remains focused on adding more silverware to his collection and further cementing his legacy at Liverpool.
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Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga, who became the second-youngest Premier League player when he made his senior debut in Monday’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, had to wear a blank shirt because it is sponsored by an online cryptocurrency gaming platform.
Britain’s Gambling Act 2005, which underwent a review in 2020, prohibits players under 18 from wearing kits displaying gambling sponsors. Monga, an England U16 international, made his senior debut at 15 years 271 days old.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri remains the youngest Premier League player in history, having debuted in the competition when he was 90 days younger than Monga.
Leicester, who suffered an eighth straight loss in the league without scoring a goal, are 19th in the standings, 15 points below the safety zone.
-Reuters
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