Manchester City 0 Manchester United 0: City player ratings from a dire Manchester derby | OneFootball

Manchester City 0

Manchester United 0

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City drew nil-all with Manchester United at Old Trafford. The game was a drab affair and was starved of moments of quality and a defining moment. Pep Guardiola’s side left Old Trafford with a point, but in their chase for Champions League football, they needed more today. The City player ratings highlight how City played as the Manchester City defenders stood out on the day for Pep Guardiola’s side.

First half

When the starting lineups were announced it did appear that Manchester City’s lineup lacked pace. It took a minute for Manchester United to get in behind the City defence through a well-worked move that set Alejandro Garnacho clear. The Argentinian winger was fouled on the edge of the area by Ruben Dias who picked a yellow card. The resulting free kick from Bruno Fernandes hit the wall, but a warning was fired at Manchester City in the game’s opening stages.

From there Manchester City settled into the game. They were calm in possession and their first shot on goal came in the 10th minute. A surging run from Matheus Nunes found Phil Foden on the right wing. He cut inside and fired a shot from just outside the area. But his shot went inches wide of the post with Andre Onana scrambling.

From the 10th minute until the 25th minute both teams had their moments. A Kevin De Bruyne shot with his left foot, which was easily saved by Andre Onana, was City’s best effort in that period. A Diego Dalot cross from the right was almost met by Alejandro Garnacho was United’s best opening in the 20th minute. But United’s pace was causing City issues who were also enjoying dominant periods of possession.

The game enters a holding pattern as Manchester City begin to control possession.

From the half-hour mark onwards Manchester City began to control possession. But the problem was it was all in front of the Manchester United defence. That was until the 38th minute when Ilkay Gundogan saw a shot go just wide of Andre Onana’s far post after some nice possession play from Pep Guardiola’s side. A minute later Casemiro fired a shot straight at Ederson. The game was beginning to be played on City’s terms but United’s pace was always a constant threat to City’s high defensive line.

At halftime, the game would be level at nil-all. Manchester City dominated possession but lacked any real cutting edge to their play. Manchester United were offering a threat on the break, particularly after they won possession high up the pitch. But all told both teams cancelled each other in the first half.

Second half

The second half needed a spark and it was Manchester City who created perhaps the best opening of the game in the 48th minute. After Omar Marmoush was dispossessed on the edge of the United area, the ball fell to Phil Foden, who was clean through on goal. But a heavy first touch from Foden allowed Noussair Mazraoui to get a foot in and the ball went behind for a goal kick. Perhaps Foden would have been better served by hitting the ball first time, and if he was at his best, he no doubt would’ve.

Kevin De Bruyne curled another left-footed strike straight at Andre Onana from the right-hand side of the United area in the 53rd minute. But was becoming apparent that there was more intent to Manchester City’s play.

Omar Marmoush sees two strikes saved by Onana.

Omar Marmoush saw a fine free-kick well saved by Andre Onana in the 64th minute. Onana’s save was the first save of note from either keeper.

In the 69th minute, Omar Marmoush saw a powerful volley from 25 yards out punched away by Onana. Two minutes later Manuel Ugarte put a thunderous volley wide of Ederson’s goal as both teams pushed to find a winner.

Ederson made a fine save to deny Joshua Zirkzee in the 77th minute. He was picked out by a fine cross from Patrick Dorgu from the left wing. Rico Lewis blocked Mason Mount’s follow-up strike to keep the score at nil-all.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes, it was Manchester United who were upping the ante. The game was crying out for a defining moment and it did appear to be edging closer to getting one based on what had unfolded over the previous 10 minutes.

But that moment never arrived despite Manchester United pressing over the games closing 10 minutes to find a winner. Pep Guardiola’s side did look to be struggling to see the game out and looked happy to leave Old Trafford with a point come the final whistle.

Summary

Manchester City didn’t lose at Old Trafford. But you do feel that they needed to force the issue to pick up three points. Newcastle now have the initiative in the race to secure Champions League football as they have two games in hand on Pep Guardiola’s side who sit two points clear of Newcastle. The City player ratings reflect City’s performance and they can be seen below.

City player ratings

Ederson-7/10: Made one crucial save to keep it at nil-all. A good performance from Ederson who made several crucial interventions from balls into his area as well.

Matheus Nunes-7.5/10: His best game for Manchester City in my opinion. He defended well and was good in possession.

Ruben Dias-7.5/10: Made several crucial blocks and played well on the day.

Josko Gvardiol-7/10: Like Dias he defended well and made some crucial defensive headers late on.

Nico O’Reilly-6.5/10: Had some nice touches but was caught out defensively on occasions. A good learning experience for him. Although he did offer some quality with his passing in a City team that was crying out for creativity.

Mateo Kovacic-6/10: Caught in possession on occasions, but he did stick to his position, and he wasn’t City’s worst player.

Ilkay Gundogan-5/10: Started in midfield but really didn’t have any influence on the game bar one shot in the first half.

Bernardo Silva-6/10: He did a lot of the grunt work for his team but you do feel like City needed more than that to win the game.

Kevin De Bruyne-6/10: He had several shots and moments but he couldn’t provide the defining moment in his final Manchester derby.

Phil Foden-5/10: Had the game’s biggest chance minutes before he was substituted after 58 minutes. But he squandered that which summed up his performance on the day.

Omar Marmoush-6.5/10: Marmoush was lively but starved of service. However, he did see two shots saved by Onana.

Substitutes

Jeremy Doku-5/10: Tried to change the game but his end product was lacking.

Jack Grealish-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Rico Lewis- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.