Manchester United vs Manchester City (MUN vs MCI) Premier League 2023 Highlights: In-form Manchester United look to tilt balance of local power back in their favour in Manchester Derby
On 23rd October 2011, the Premier League witnessed the heralding of a new era when Manchester City signaled their entry into the traditional powerhouses’ club of England after demolishing their more accomplished neighbours 6-1. It was also the season where Manchester United lost the title to City on goal difference after that famous Aguero goal against Queen’s Park Rangers.
Cut to 2nd October 2022, Aguero’s heir apparent Erling Haaland demolished the red half of Manchester with a hattrick, becoming the first player to score 3 goals in 3 consecutive matches. The scoreline of 6-3 flattered United as City were dominant as the Red Devils struggled to get into the contest.
This has been the prevailing thread for the past 10 years. City were suddenly the more attractive option for major players or upcoming ones as United struggled to come to terms with their newfound runners-up status in Manchester. Since that fateful 2011-12 season, City have won the Premier League 6 times while United have won just once.
On Saturday, United and City will renew hostilities for the 189th time with United having all the momentum right now. In their last 18 competitive matches, Erik Ten Hag’s team have just lost once while City have been rather inconsistent this season. In one match, they blew away Chelsea by 4-0 in the FA Cup and 1-0 in the Premier League, and then lost to Southampton in the EFL Cup. Against the Saints, the reigning Premier League Champions failed to register a single shot on target in 90 minutes.
Should United beat City, they will not only gain revenge for that October hammering but will also come within a point of their 2nd place spot. But to do all that, they must stop the goalscoring machine that is Erling Haaland. That’s no walk in the park, but Chelsea, and more recently Southampton, have shown that the Norwegian goal machine does have a pause switch. (READ MORE)
There's headers after headers as City struggle to make inroads but the ball has trickled back to De Gea. It's almost one now and yes!!! It's all over!! United are in the title race now and that's adent to City's title hopes!!
FT MUN 2-1 MCI
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Martinez straight into the action as he heads Cancelo's attempted cross before it reaches Haaland. But City come again and United defend again.
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Mctominay, Maguire and Martinez coming on for Rashford, Malacia and Casemiro. United look to protect this lead at any cost now.
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It's going to be 5 minutes added on. Can City salvage anything from this match? They have a bit of time to do this as Unitred prepare some late subs.
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And De Bruyne passes to Haaland and the Norwegian is down as Casemiro nicks it away from him. City appeals for a foul and United breathe again.
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And again!!!!!! What a piece of play for Garnacho!!! In the blink of an eye, he passes to Rashford who finishes it off!!! City do not know what hit them here!!
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United gets the ball in the net but it's ruled for offside. Bruno Fernandes was the one who got the ball in the net but Rashford was offside. And yes!!! Rashford did not attempt to play the ball and the goal stands!!!!
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Garnacho is away and he tries to take on two City defenders, ultimately giving away a foul as he grabs Akanji's shirt and fouls him. Meanwhile, Rashford is unhappy with Rodi who was pulling him back.
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United now have Garnacho in the wing, who looks bright but the men in red can't seem to find a way through at the moment as City resolutely clear their lines.
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City have got a right old iron grip on this match now. United, who were so good in the 1st half, have look listless in this one.
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United look for a reply straight away. Wan Bissaka gets a shot away from the edge of the City box and it's deflected wide for a corner. Nothing comes of it ultimately.
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And the deadlock is broken!!!! It's Jack Grealish with the header off Kevin de Bruyne's pinpoint pass. Nobody had picked up the Belgium and City lead in the derby.
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Cancelo with a beautiful piece of skill. Glides paszt one defender and nutmegs another before being bundled over by Casemiro. No foul. City are slowly trying to get a foothold in this game.
Foden is subbed off and on comes Grealish.
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Closeeeee for United as Varane's head off a free kick is saved. In the other end of the field, City's attack is snuffed out by a sea of red shirts.
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City are still seeing most of the ball as United defend diligently. The Red Devils need to make sure that there is no drop of concentration on their part as City will exploit any fraction of an oportunity.
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Nice turn by Antony as Fernandes feeds him the ball but it's offside. It was a tight call but a right call.
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Good news for United fans as Marcus Rashford has sauntered on to the pitch while Martial has been replaced ny Antony. It's time for the second half.
So, that's the first 45 minutes with United looking the most likely to score while City look uncharacteristically tame. They don't have any shots on target while United have 2. The only worrying sign for United was Rashford pulling up with a niggle close to half time. Let's see if he comes back on or if Antony replaces him. Pretty unfortunate if the England striker goes down with an injury with him being in such red hot form recently.
De Bruyne flashes in a cross and it's cleared away. Mahrez is down but it's a clean tackle. One minute has been added. Walker fancies a shot from distance and that has gone wide. And it's half time.
HT: MUN 0-0 MCI
Rashford is down near the sidelines. Could be a problem for Manchester United. The England forward was chasing a dinked ball by Eriksen and he has a tussle with Walker. The good news is that he is back up again.
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Bit of pace from Rashfordx. Here he is away towards the City goa and Ederson gets down to make the save. That was close for City.
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United's attack springing into life as Rashford is sent straight through and where has Ederson gone??? The Brazilain is off his line with the goal unguarded. Rashford gets a shot but it's defended by a City player. Huge letoff for Ederson.
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Did Walker just have a kick at Malacia after clearing City's line? There seemed to be a niigle by the City rightback. Malacia is down and the assistant referee has seen the incident but takes no further action.
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Eriksen's through ball can't find a teamamate as Rashford is blocked by the body of a City centreback. United are doing everything right at the moment. They just need a final pass.
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Excellent passing game from United. Passes are pinged from the defence as Malacia wiggles out of a tight spot. Rashford gets the ball and plays the diagonal but it's over his onrushing teammate's head.
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Foden, who has just had one touch in the first 20 mins gets a lofted ball, brings it down and as luck would have it, it's offside. Something is not clicking for City.
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City are trying to play on the break but Fred is always there to mark De Bruyne. The Belgian can't seem to get him off his back. Rodri, meanwhile gets a ball near the edge of the United penalty box and tries a pass to Bernardo Silva. That was wayward. Too many miss passes from the reigning champions.
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Dangerous attack from United as Martial's pass could have gone to either Rashord or Erisen. It's ultimately cleared off but only to Fred. Nice tiurn by the Brazilian and a ball is floated in and Ederson gets it in his mitts.
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Manchester City are having more possession than United at the moment but there's no end game just yet. It's more or less sideway passing much to the chagrin of Guardiola.
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Great move by United as a De Gea ball is expertly brought down by Martia who gives it back to Rashford. Rashford cuts inside and passes back to Martia on the edge of the box. His shot is blocked and the ball falls kindly to Mlacia who is caught offside. United asking all the questions now.
And here's Eriksen feeding Fernandes who drags his shot wide. Half chance that.
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De Bryune has managed to give Fred a slip, feeds the ball to Silva, who plays a short pass to Cancelo whose cross balloons over the bar and United can clear. As they were trying to break away, Martial is caught offside.
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United are stringing together a few passes from their defence as Casemiro pokes one through to Eriksen who plays it to the wing but it's overhit and it's a City throw.
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And we are straight into the action as the first big collision of the match is between Martial and Akanji. Akanji stans his ground and the French forward is bundled over.
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The players are out. The customary photos are done. City in blue and United in Red. And here's the referee to start things off. The whistle blows and the rainy day derby kicks off.
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It's almost time for kick off as both sets of players have trudged off to their locker rooms after warm ups. The Old Trafford crowd is red hot. This promises to be one of the most scintillating derbies in recent time. Let's get this underway
If you are a defender playing against Manchester City, what is the first thing you see? More often than not, your wandering eyes will always end up fixating on the colossal centre forward in the other half, standing absolutely still as he waits for the referee’s whistle
As soon as the whistle blows, the defender will come face to face with his worst nightmare, as Erling Haaland’s gigantic frame peels away from his marker and marauds towards the opposition goal at lightning speed.
As soon as he makes those runs, you can bet anything that a certain Kevin de Bruyne will find a way to send the ball towards his Norwegian teammate, resulting in the ball nestling safely in the back of the net. (READ MORE)
In October, Tottenham and Arsenal played the first North London derby of the season with just one point separating the two. Fast forward 3 months, the gap is now 11 points, with Spurs the architects of their own downfall after a spate of mediocre performances, while Arsenal continue to maintain an iron grip at the top of the Premier League table.
The Lilywhites started the new year on a sour note when they lost to Aston Villa but they quickly bounced back with a 4-0 mauling of Crystal Palace in their most recent encounter. These two results, if kept back-to-back, are a perfect case study of Spurs’ main problem this season—a lack of consistency.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have been the embodiment of consistency this year, after years of being the also-rans. The Gunners have just lost once this season, to Manchester United, while winning 14 of their matches including against Liverpool and Chelsea. Their last Premier League match was a 0-0 draw against Newcastle while they defeated Oxford United 3-0 in a recent FA Cup encounter. (READ MORE)
Manchester United have made huge progress since their 6-3 thrashing at rivals Manchester City in October, coach Erik ten Hag said, with the lessons learned from that loss standing them in good stead for the return derby clash on Saturday.
United host City having lost just once from 18 matches in all competitions since their humbling at the Etihad Stadium and victory at Old Trafford will see Ten Hag’s side move to within a point of second-placed champions City.
Having not won the league title in a decade, Ten Hag has got supporters dreaming of ending that barren run sooner than expected, with their recent form a world away from the team who were so inferior to City on Oct. 2.
The Manchester derby has produced some of the most iconic goals in the Premier League history. Be it Sergio Aguero's last minute goal that won Manchester City the title on goal difference or Wayne Rooney spectacular overhead kick. Here a look back at some of the most memorable strikes.
On asked what he thinks is the best EPL goal of all time, summer signing Casemiro points out to that wonder goal by Wayne Rooney which was an overhead kick, catching everyone off guard.
As the euphoria around the World Cup subsides and the attention turns to club football, a certain Erling Haaland’s name has started to engulf the collective psyche of the football world again. A man who was shattering records on his way to become the Premier League top scorer in record time, had to take a backseat during the month-long fiesta in Qatar but now, it’s only a matter of time before the world becomes his again.
The man who started as a skinny teenager in Bryne, a quaint little town in Western Norway, has had the world latching on to his every move when he burst onto the scene in 2019-20 playing for RB Leipzig and later, Borussia Dortmund.
Perhaps, it’s an apt time to look back at his developmental years as his growth doesn’t mirror the usual route that elite players take. He wasn’t spotted and produced early by a big academy; instead he was reared through community football. (READ MORE)
On 23rd October 2011, the Premier League witnessed the heralding of a new era when Manchester City signaled their entry into the traditional powerhouses’ club of England after demolishing their more accomplished neighbours 6-1. It was also the season where Manchester United lost the title to City on goal difference after that famous Aguero goal against Queen’s Park Rangers.
Cut to 2nd October 2022, Aguero’s heir apparent Erling Haaland demolished the red half of Manchester with a hattrick, becoming the first player to score 3 goals in 3 consecutive matches. The scoreline of 6-3 flattered United as City were dominant as the Red Devils struggled to get into the contest. (Read our preview)
The last time these rivals met in the Premier League, United were absolutelty hammered by City when the Blue Side of Manchester ran way with a 6-3 victory. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hattricks while Anthony Martial scored twice and Rashford scored once.
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia, Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes, Martial, Rashford.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Haaland.
Netherlands international Donny van de Beek will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag confirmed on Friday.
Midfielder Van de Beek suffered the injury during his side’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth last week, where he was immediately substituted.
“Yes, it is his knee. In the long term it is looking really good, he will be back for the start of pre-season. The rest of the season he is out,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Friday.
In the last match, United did not have the steely resolve of Casemiro in midfield from the start. The Brazilian has been a revelation since exchanging the regal whites of Real Madrid with the royal red of United. He is one of the main reasons that United have been top class since his arrival, with 9 consecutive home wins and 7 clean sheets. The 30-year-old is a midfield engine, harkening back to midfielders of yore, able to seamlessly slot into defensive as well as offensive roles. He is quite comfortable acting as a protective shield in front of the defence, while also having the wherewithal to cut through an opposition’s backline with a pinpoint pass.
Manchester United and their noisy neighbours have met each other 188 times in various competitions with United holding the edge with 77 victories while City have come out on top in 58 occasions. 57 games have finished as draws.
Manchester United has moved to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo by signing Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley until the end of the season. United manager Erik ten Hag was determined to bolster his attack following Ronaldo’s exit in November. Weghorst, who was already on loan at Turkish club Besiktas, will not be eligible to play against Manchester City in the English Premier League on Saturday because he was not registered in time. (READ MORE)
MCI: Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Akanji, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
MUN: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia, McTominay, Casemiro, Antony, Fernandes, Martial, Rashford.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the blockbuster clash between an in-form Manchester United and an inconsistent Manchester City at Old Trafford for the 189th Manchester Derby. Since being thrashed 6-3 by City on Oct. 2, United have won 15 out of 18 matches in all competitions while losing only once, while they are on a run of eight consecutive victories. City, meanwhile, are stinging from their recent EFL Cup loss to Southampton.