Manchester City pulled off a 3-1 derby victory over rivals Manchester United to move back to top of the table. David Silva opened the scoring for the hosts after 11 minutes following a Bernardo Silva cut-back in the area, Sergio Aguero doubled City's lead moments after the second half started, drilling Riyad Mahrez's assist, before substitute Romelu Lukaku came on to win a penalty after rounding Ederson, which Anthony Martial scored.
We’ll get to the match in due course. To begin with, let’s talk about the first 12 minutes.
Possession statistics can be rather over-rated. Just having the ball isn’t enough. It’s where you have it, and what you do with it that counts. Leicester won the league with ordinary possession numbers. Spain made pass after pass after pass against Russia in the World Cup last summer, and lost.
Sometimes, however, the numbers are too compelling to be avoided. So here goes: at the time when David Silva scored Manchester City’s opening goal, in the 12th minute of the game, Manchester United had made 11 passes, of which just five had been successful.
Ilkay Gundogan was the hero at the Etihad after coming on to score Manchester City's third and confirm victory on Sunday
Making a late break up field from a City counter attack, Gundogan faced off with David De Gea and slotted the ball home
The German's goal condemned United to defeat, after they threatened to make a late comeback in the Premier League fixture
Anthony Martial stepped up and kept his nerve to slot home a penalty and give United hope in the tie by making it 2-1
The Frenchman sent goalkeeper Ederson the wrong way to pull a goal back after United had earlier gone 2-0 behind
Substitute Romelu Lukaku had an immediate impact after rounding Ederson to win the penalty for his side
The Belgian had nudged the ball around Ederson but was then clipped by the goalkeeper's body with his momentum
Sergio Aguero beat Victor Lindelof and rifled the ball past De Gea within moments of the second half restart to make it 2-0
The Argentine striker kept his eyes focused on the target as his evaded a last ditch challenge and got his shot off
The diminutive striker peeled away in celebration and roared in union with the City supporters as the Etihad erupted in noise
Sir Alex Ferguson took his place in the stands at the Etihad, six months on from surgery to treat a brain haemorrhage
Guardiola withdrew Aguero late on for the eventual matchwinner, Gundogan, and had an animated discussion with his striker
Drink that in for a moment. Those are not statistics from a Manchester derby. Not a conventional one. They are not, to be fair, the numbers from a meeting of elites either. A cup match, Premier League versus fourth or fifth tier maybe.
If Manchester City end up playing Stockport in the FA cup third round, say, those are the figures one might expect to read. Yet this was Manchester United: a club that once scoffed at the very idea City could ever be their equals. So however close the game became at times, however much Jose Mourinho’s team got back on track, those first 12 minutes were astonishing.
It is very hard to win a game when so thoroughly starved of the ball. At various times, City were operating with 91 per cent possession and it does not take a mathematical genius to question United in those circumstances. They couldn’t get out of their half, they couldn’t place pressure on City’s goal.
Sometimes rope-a-dope can be a viable tactic. Let an opponent tire, and take advantage. Except City didn’t really tire. They lost their way a little in the first-half, recklessly allowed United a glimmer of hope in the second, but the scoreline was vindication of their superiority. They could have had more, were it not for a horrid Leroy Sane finish with players over, and a quite brilliant tackle by Ashley Young to deny Sane again when through on goal.
Manchester United had pulled off a counter attacking smash and grab in Turin on Wednesday but they were never close to one here. There was always the feeling that if they had drawn level, City had extra in reserve. Their third goal, scored by substitute Ilkay Gundogan, was the result of a seemingly endless passing move, the length of a 1970s concept album but with greater purpose.
It encapsulated the difference in these teams. United haven’t got that ambition in them, even if they had the personnel. Whisper it, but they missed Paul Pogba, who plays a key role in the transition phase. Romelu Lukaku didn’t start, either, but when he came on won a penalty in less than a minute.
Back to the 12th minute, though, for that was when City seized a lead that was never relinquished. Had it not been a goal, it would have been a penalty. Raheem Sterling sent a deep cross from the left, which was picked up by Bernardo Silva at the far post.
He cut it back, at which point Chris Smalling took out Sergio Aguero in the middle, a move that would have seen a less experienced official blow early. Instead, Anthony Taylor assessed the situation perfectly, saw the advantageous position City were in and allowed play to continue. David Silva brought the ball under control and rifled it past David De Gea. It wasn’t just what City deserved: it was pretty much inevitable, given how much of the ball they were seeing.
The only surprise was that City did not capitalise on their superiority. They petered out, really. Still in control but without putting United away. They lost their way in a round of possession for its own sake and stopped utilising their three magnificent Silvas – David, Bernardo, and Aguero, now silver-haired – dye, not old age – and more recognisable than ever.
When Aguero finally left the field after 75 minutes, Pep Guardiola clasped both hands around each side of his face, leaned in, so their foreheads touched, and jabbered excitedly, nose to nose. Love? Thanks? The tactical explanation for why he was being withdrawn?
Maybe it will turn up on Amazon Prime one day. For now what matters is that Aguero, once again, made the difference in a Manchester derby. He has more goals in it than any player from either side in the Premier League era, and Sunday’s was a beauty. It came two minutes after half-time, disrupting Mourinho’s best-laid plans to absorb City’s pressure and undo them on the counter attack.
He might even have got away with it, too, were it not for Aguero’s sure finishing, giving City the cushion they needed – and deserved – to get them safely over the line without too much drama. The goal sprang from an error in the heart of Manchester United’s midfield, Jesse Lingard losing the ball, to allow a break. Aguero played a lovely one-two with Riyad Mahrez and then fired a shot so powerful and accurate David De Gea did not get a chance to move. Some blamed him, but that seemed harsh. What chance did he have?
Manchester City’s goalkeeper, Ederson however was certainly responsible for the error that almost allowed United back. Lukaku, freshly introduced, picked up a through pass and was clumsily taken out by City’s goalkeeper – the second consecutive league match he has been guilty of the offence. Referee Taylor pointed to the spot and with Pogba missing – and missed, it must be said – Anthony Martial stepped up to convert with minimal fuss. It was his sixth league goal in five matches. Tony Martial scores again is no longer an empty boast.
And then, the final flourish, a 44 pass move involving every outfield Manchester City player that culminated in a pass from Bernardo Silva to Gundogan, finished smartly to give City the margin of victory this performance merited. Guardiola maintained his record of never having lost back to back league matches against any opponent in his managerial career, and City returned to the top of the table, two points clear of Liverpool and 12 points ahead of Manchester United. In this city, that may as well be an ocean.
Old foes Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho afforded each other a warm welcome on the touchline, ahead of kick-off
MATCH FACTS AND LIVE LEAGUE TABLE
Man City (4-3-3): Ederson 5.5, Walker 7, Stones 6.5, Laporte 7, Mendy 7, Bernardo Silva 7.5, Fernandinho 6.5, Silva 8, Mahrez 6 (Sane 62, 6.5), Aguero 6.5 (Gundogan 75, 7), Sterling 6.5
Subs: Kompany, Delph, Gabriel Jesus, Foden, Muric
Goals: Silva 11, Aguero 48, Gundogan 86
Booked: Bernardo Silva
Manager: Pep Guardiola 8
Man Utd (4-3-3): De Gea 5.5, Young 6.5, Smalling 6, Lindelof 5.5, Shaw 6.5, Ander Herrera 5 (Mata 73, 6), Matic 6, Fellaini 5.5, Lingard 5 (Lukaku 57, 6.5), Rashford 5 (Sanchez 73, 6.5), Martial 6.5
Subs: Jones, Fred, Romero, Darmian
Goal: Martial 58 pen
Booked: Shaw
Manager: Jose Mourinho 5
Referee: Anthony Taylor 7 (Cheshire)
Attendance: 54,316
MOTM: David Silva
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