Manchester United beat Manchester City at the Etihad for a second time this season, although it was to no avail with United missing out on a Carabao Cup final.
Manchester City welcomed Manchester United to the Etihad with an air of certainty surrounding this tie. The feeling was that this leg was but a formality, considering the manner in which United had been dismantled at Old Trafford in the previous leg.
And for the first 17 minutes of the tie, it looked like that would happen. City lay a siege to the United half, penning United into their third of the pitch. Pep Guardiola seemed to have come up with a groundbreaking new formation, with the three at the back including two full backs and one centre back (although that was partially caused by the injuries City were facing), and the midfielders forming a ‘box’, as the commentary at Sky Sports called it. They were fully on top of United, not letting them pass out of the back. pressing high, winning tackles high up the pitch, and getting great balls into the box. City had as many as eight (EIGHT!) players camped in the United half in that period, with João Cancelo adding on to the midfield at several occasions.
They had several great chances, too. Sergio Agüero had a great opportunity in the 7th minute, with a chipped ball from Gündoğan getting him in behind the United back three only for de Gea to get a strong right hand to it. Another opportunity fell to Mahrez in quick succession, with de Gea quick to read the deflection and save with his foot. Sterling even went out and got the ball in United’s net in the 9th minute (after another characteristic De Bruyne pass), but was caught offside.
But Manchester United managed to hang on. City failed to make their dominance count this time around, unlike the leg at Old Trafford, where they had three goals to show for their dominance (which was what finally won them the tie). One of the major reasons was the presence of Luke Shaw, who proved to be a much more reliable third centre-back compared to Phil Jones; Phil Jones made everyone around him uncertain. While the name of Luke Shaw doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, he looked pretty good at centre-back; he has the physicality to be able to deal with strong forwards, while he has the pace to keep up with the quick ones. He has also shown good awareness in his time at centre-back, following runs in, making last-ditch tackles, and covering for teammates. While he probably wouldn’t be great in a back four as a centre back, he does give United an option when they go into a back three. Maguire and Lindelöf also looked good today, Maguire in particular seeming more confident after the mauling of Tranmere. One tackle on a runaway Raheem Sterling on the 29th minute was particularly good, with Maguire showing a pace that belied his image and a tackle that Aaron Wan-Bissaka would’ve been proud of.
Another difference was their defensive midfielders. Matić was very good today, and Fred looked classy on this outing as well. On a pitch packed with silky maestros such as the two Silvas, De Bruyne, and Gündoğan, Fred still managed to stand out as the guy who could do everything. He tackled, passed, dribbled, and was generally effective at everything he did. This was the Fred Guardiola wanted to bring to City. He and Matić provided the base upon which United built their game. Fred was instrumental in beating City’s press, with his turns into space critical for United to move into City’s half. Matić, too, has been looking reinvigorated; it is almost as if he has bought into the manager’s vision now, compared to the beginning of the season, where there were some veiled dissenting comments to the media every now and then.
This defensive base was what finally allowed them to get in the game in the 33rd minute. It was a spark of brilliance from Jesse Lingard, no less, which allowed United to get on the front foot. Receiving the ball from Brandon Williams on the left wing, Lingard proceeded to nutmeg Riyadh Mahrez and almost got one on Rodri as well, but got fouled. In the following free kick from Fred, a botched clearance from Bernardo Silva (hiding how poor Fred’s free kick actually was – it didn’t beat the first man) reached Matić at a great height, who proceeded to rifle it into the bottom corner at Bravo’s near post with a first time shot.
City seemed to have been hit with an electric shock. The crowd went quiet. Heck, such was the shock that even the United fans only began cheering after an initial moment of disbelief. It instigated a spell in which the mighty City looked pretty ordinary. Misplaced passes, nervous movements, and a spell of United pressure in City’s half; all of these were things no one could have imagined in a game at the Etihad. It was almost as if the two sides had switched roles, with City now taking on the mantle of the counter-attacking side.
However, Manchester United couldn’t make their pressure count, and weren’t able to take apart City the way they’d been torn apart in the first quarter of the game. Half time couldn’t have come soon enough for City, and United could really have done without it.
City came out enlivened, and with purpose. Yet United, this time, were up to it. They gained a proper foothold in midfield, and were able to get back to the position before half-time, and again managed to keep City at arm’s length (aside from Maguire’s shocking giveaway which led to an equally shocking decision from David Silva to pass rather than shoot). United may have even scored another, had it not been for Matić’s sending off; honestly, he should have let someone else take the responsibility of stopping Gündoğan’s breakaway. Unfortunately, United are unable to fashion openings through the strength of their passing, instead relying on sheer pace, which wasn’t going to help them create a goal at this stage of the tie.
Overall, City deserved a win in this tie, but purely based on their first-half performance at Old Trafford. Taking that first half out of the equation, Manchester United would have won and would have deserved it.