Manchester United recorded a league double over rivals Manchester City after 2-0 win thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay.
Manchester United were boosted by the availability of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reverting to a five man defence with Luke Shaw the left sided defender and Brandon Williams the wing back. Kevin de Bruyne was not fit enough to play which was a blow for Manchester City. Phil Foden kept his place in the side as he started on the right wing again.
City settled into their rhythm very quickly, passing with confidence as to be expected. Shaw was caught in possession by Sergio Aguero as Raheem Sterling, who hasn't scored in months, was eventually denied by David de Gea. That would be City's only effort on goal for the first half as United would go on to be the better side.
There was no real catalyst that caused United to establish their dominance, just City being passive in possession. James struck powerfully at Ederson before Anthony Martial had two great chances. One was blocked by Nicolas Otamendi, the other rolled straight into Ederson's hand when passing to a teammate would've been the better option.
United would make their pressure count through Martial. Fernandes was fouled and an little bit of genius from him led to the goal. City were expecting an orthodox cross from Fernandes but he lifted the ball forward to Martial whose volley squirmed past Ederson. The Brazilian had to save that but it was nothing more than what Manchester United and Solskjaer deserved for a perfect execution of their plan.
City had no reaction to the goal as the United onslaught just continued. Otamendi and Oleksandr Zinchenko were being pulled apart by Wan-Bissaka and James down the right and it was the Argentine who almost gave a penalty away. It looked like to me that Otamendi kicked Fred which caused him to fall over but referee Mike Dean adjudged the midfielder to have dived. There was certainly no dive but how VAR didn't overrule Dean is strange.
City were much improved after the break as they pinned United back. Riyad Mahrez's introduction gave them a better threat down the right with a natural winger on the flank. Still, though, they were not creating clear opportunities and the United counter attack never went away. James burst down the wing on the break and had he looked up he would've seen Fernandes in loads of space in the middle but he didn't, and he ended up shooting straight at Ederson.
Sterling was fairly anonymous in the first half but it was him who had City's best chance of the match. Mahrez got down the wing and crossed to Sterling who failed to convert from close range, with Gabriel Jesus forcing a save from de Gea after recovering the ball. The out of form winger still has no goals against Manchester United.
Solskjaer recognised that United were struggling to cope with City's offensive side so he smartly substituted Martial for McTominay, which proved vital.
Time had run out and City still hadn't scored. The rain was coming down in buckets which made the surface incredibly wet. Ederson threw the ball quickly in search of Benjamin Mendy but the ball skidded across the pitch to McTominay, who from 30 yards scored into an empty net.
Solskjaer showed a mature side to his management by withdrawing a striker for a midfielder to sure up his defence. It was good micro management that is associated with Pep Guardiola, who the Norweigan has beaten 3/4 times this season. The league is gone for City but Champions League qualification is certainly possible for United.
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