Manchester United lost 0-2 at home to Man City. The Reds went behind early through a Bailly own goal before Bernardo Silva doubled Man City’s lead on the stroke of half-time. This loss means United is 9 points off league leaders Chelsea.
Here are five things we learned:
Pep got the better of Ole
Pep’s side kept hold of possession and ensured that United didn’t hit them on the break. Man City’s had 67% possession in contrast to United’s 33%. Pep Guardiola learned from last season’s 0-2 loss at the Etihad. United fashioned the win on that occasion with a mixture of solid defence and constant menace on the break. The game opened up after Gabriel Jesus conceded a penalty 2 minutes into the game. Shaw doubled United’s lead with a goal in the 50th minute. In City’s 0-2 win at Old Trafford, they prevented United from having a chance on the break.
Ole shouldn’t be in the job
Manchester United had more shots on their own goal than City’s goal. Having more shots on your own goal is a damning stat for Ole and Manchester United. Ederson was only troubled by a volley from Ronaldo. In the 2nd half, Ederson was allowed a lot of touches. Nothing in the last three games (Man City, Atlanta, and Spurs) has shown that Ole should still be the coach. If/when Ole gets sacked, the players should have a clean slate.
Shaw and Maguire’s bad form for Manchester United
Luke Shaw should have done better for the 2nd City goal. Maguire was too slow in dealing with Man City’s slickness and has been in bad form for around a month. He was also at fault for the second goal as he and Shaw left a deep cross for Bernardo Silva to poke in at the far post.
De Gea is important for Manchester United
If it weren’t for De Gea, Manchester United would have lost by a bigger margin. De Gea made five saves to keep it at 1-0 before Silva scored to make it 0-2 to Man City. David De Gea was spotted punching the Old Trafford tunnel in a fit of rage during their humbling defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday.
Players can’t bounce back
Liverpool, Everton, and Atlanta are all bad results that Manchester United hasn’t learned from. Manchester United didn’t string a few wins together after those games because tactics weren’t good. This result is arguably worse than the Liverpool one because United could have lost by more than five. Manchester United is arguably in the worse position they have been in since Fergie left.
