Manchester City are intelligent but strangely vulnerable; Manchester United are mixed but with a strange spark. After all, it was a Manchester derby that confirmed what we already knew. As a result, the title race continues to Anfield next Sunday, with a potentially shocking clash between City and Liverpool following four straight wins in the league.
At this point, Arsenal could be on top assuming they can extend their consecutive league run to eight by beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday night and Brentford at the Emirates on Saturday. There are two things to say: firstly, there are 10 games left after next weekend and there haven’t been three teams so tightly packed at the top at this stage since 2010 (Chelsea leading United after 28 games). one point with Arsenal two points behind). Secondly, if this is to be a classic encounter, the top teams need to lose unexpected points, rather than the kind of parade of victories by the big contenders that characterized 2018, as surprises and twists can happen. 19.
United, meanwhile, are six points off fifth and although they were ahead at half-time, the gap between them and City is huge. Given their injuries, perhaps it’s not entirely fair to judge them on this one game, but more generally it’s reasonable to ask why, as they’ve spent more time and spent much more money at Aston Villa than Unai Emery or Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou It will happen. Erik ten Hag has been far less successful in creating a side with a coherent structure and identity. Recruitment has been historically bad and he has to sympathize with that, but equally he was the one who looked at Antony and saw a £90million footballer.
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Ten Hag’s setup was a throwback to the days of Ole Gunnar Solskjær playing with split forwards in midfield, which made sense: the Norwegian’s performance against City and all the big teams was relatively good; What he struggled with was creating attacks against teams that had a deep stance against United. Using the pace of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho against a City defense that has leaked more goals on quick counter-attacks this season than any Premier League team other than Crystal Palace was arguably how United could reach City.
It worked, insofar as it produced the opening goal (André Onana’s magnificent long pass, Bruno Fernandes playing the role of target man with unexpected aplomb and Rashford darting into the top corner). But then Rashford was terrible, and United’s unfamiliarity with the form was evident in their hesitation. Little by little they were forced deeper and deeper, unable to get out, unable to mount the kind of counterattack that could threaten a second or stem the tide of the City.
City might not have equalized until the 56th minute or taken the lead until the 80th minute, but there was never any real sense that United would get away with it. Phil Foden’s outstanding form was a moment of genius with Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne deciding the outcome of the game; As well as being a relentless machine that overwhelms sides with its pressure and pressure, there is always a feeling. City, which has control of the ball, has individuals who can turn the game around.
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In that sense, at least in spirit, they are more like Pep Guardiola’s early Barcelona than some of the teams they won titles with at City. There is also a feeling that they are perhaps not as controlling as previous versions, due to the increased tendency to play directly to Haaland, which adds a new dimension to their attacking play. Guardiola once mentioned that his team had to make 15 passes before they could defend against the counter after winning the ball back; As it became more threatening in transit, this layer of protection was seemingly lost, thus making it vulnerable to rapid breakage.
And this perhaps explains the feeling over the last few months that, despite City winning 15 of their last 16 games, they are not at their best and not as frighteningly ruthless as in previous seasons. It was also acknowledged that the fixture list was unusually soft. On Sunday, they face a team that started the day in the top eight in the Premier League for the first time since their defeat to Villa three months ago.
The derby was supposed to be the start of a difficult month that would define his season. Maybe so, but United are not City’s rivals at the moment. Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa will face much tougher tests over the next four weeks.