Man United 2-1 Man City (Fernandes 78′, Rashford 82′ | Grealish 60′)
Manchester United sprung into life late onto to beat their local rivals 2-1 at Old Trafford and go a point behind them in the Premier League.
After a drab first half, substitute Jack Grealish’s header gave City the lead, before Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored twice in quick succession to seal a crucial United win.
Rashford spurned the best two chances of the first half, before Kevin De Bruyne beat Casemiro to set up Grealish’s goal shortly after he came on.
But Rashford redeemed himself, first by not touching Casemiro’s excellent pass from an offside position, allowing Fernandes to excellently steer his chance home.
He then got onto the end of a clever Alejandro Garnacho cross to put Pep Guardiola’s side to the sword and potentially ignite United’s own title charge.
City were left furious about the first goal, believing Rashford had indeed played an active role while offside. Rio Ferdinand’s verdict in the BT Sport studio was simply: “It evens itself out.”
Man United
- David de Gea – A surprisingly quiet afternoon for the Spaniard, who didn’t make a save but did everything he could to stop City’s goal. 6
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka – Dealt extremely well with Phil Foden but conspicuously outjumped for Grealish’s goal. 7
- Raphael Varane – Erling Haaland barely had a touch and a lot of that is down to the Frenchman. 7
- Luke Shaw – Continued to excel in his unfamiliar centre-back role. 7
- Tyrell Malacia – Dangerous going forward and dealt with Riyad Mahrez with aplomb. 7
- Casemiro – A flawless first half and a brilliant pass to create United’s goal, but beaten by de Bruyne too easily to set up Grealish and could have conceded a penalty early in the second half. 7
- Fred – A smart performance from the much-maligned Brazilian. 7
- Christian Eriksen – At the heart of United’s best creative work in the first half but fell out of the game in the second. 6
- Bruno Fernandes – Took his goal brilliantly and excelled in a variety of roles all game. Could have done better with an early chance but made up for it later. 8
- Anthony Martial – An anonymous first 45 minutes saw him hauled off at half-time. Completely nullified by City’s centre-back pairing. 4
- Marcus Rashford – Scored the winner and showed excellent awareness to help create the first. Should have done better with two first-half chances but got the job done. 8
Substitutes
- Antony – 6
- Alejandro Garnacho – 7
- Lisandro Martinez – N/A
- Harry Maguire – N/A
- Scott McTominay – N/A
Bruno Fernandes causes scenes at Old Trafford!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 14, 2023
His goal is ruled onside after the linesman initially put his flag up!pic.twitter.com/AJDIGH2Be5
Man City
- Ederson – Caught in no man’s land for United’s first but could do little about the second. Rounded in the first half after headlessly careering out of goal. 5
- Kyle Walker – Used his pace well all game, including stopping a definite Rashford goal. A solid defensive performance. 7
- Manuel Akanji – Brilliant for 78 minutes, but both him and Ake were outfoxed for United’s goals. 6
- Nathan Ake – Like Akanji, a smart performance ruined by United’s late brace. 6
- Joao Cancelo – Some great work back in the City side and potentially could have won a penalty early in the second half. 7
- Rodri – City’s metronome barely put a foot wrong all game. An excellent performance. 8
- Kevin de Bruyne – Restricted in the first half like all City’s attacking players, but warned United with a brilliant ball for Bernardo, before cleverly setting up Grealish’s opener. 7
- Bernardo Silva – Uncharacteristically out of the game and sloppy. Made a few wayward passes that could have extended United’s lead. 5
- Riyad Mahrez – A quiet performance from the Algerian, but played a great ball to set de Bruyne free for City’s goal. 5
- Phil Foden – Marked out of the game by Wan-Bissaka and replaced early in the second half. Did not have a sniff all afternooon. 5
- Erling Haaland – Did Haaland play? Had one shot blocked but barely saw the ball. 4
Substitutes
- Jack Grealish – 7
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/BnoItkl
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