Manchester City re-established a six-point cushion at the top of the Premier League (PL) with a 4-1 victory over their fierce rivals Manchester United, to secure a first league double over their noisy neighbours since 2018/19.
The pressure was on Manchester City here, with a relentless Liverpool chasing them down in the title race. Not that City were feeling it though and it was the blue moon that rose inside five minutes when Bernardo Silva’s perfectly weighted cut-back was rifled home by the on-rushing Kevin De Bruyne and with City boasting an incredible 20-0 record when scoring first this season, United faced an uphill battle. However, United took on the task and levelled the scores midway through the first half. A swift counter finished with Jadon Sancho one-on-one with Kyle Walker, a drop of the shoulder sent him one way before curling a sumptuous effort beyond the desperate dive of Ederson.
City continued to land several blows on United and eventually delivered a knockout one, after David de Gea produced a stunning save to deny Phil Foden, but United couldn’t clear their lines from the rebound and De Bruyne hammered home his second of the day to give City a HT lead. De Bruyne was aiming to become the first City player to score a hat-trick in a Manchester Derby in over 50-years, and he almost became a history maker but for a smart de Gea stop from the Belgian’s free-kick. Whilst not netting the third, De Bruyne certainly played his part in the third, finding Riyad Mahrez on the edge of the area who fired home on the half-volley to essentially place the game beyond United.
It was all about control from then on in for City, who knocked the ball about with consummate ease, and finished off a resounding victory in stoppage time through Mahrez following a lengthy VAR check. It’s a potential banana skin negotiated for Pep Guardiola as he goes in search of masterminding yet another PL title success, who has lost more home games against Manchester United than any other opponent in his career. Whilst for United, defeat tallied with an Arsenal victory this afternoon sees them slip out of the top-four and with work to do to avoid missing out on Champions League football next season.
