Manchester City had sailed away in the title race by the time they hosted their neighbours at the Etihad, aiming to regain their throne as soon as possible after losing it to Liverpool last season. Their 21 game winning streak in the league had put them 14 points ahead of Manchester United, who had slipped up in recent times. Nevertheless, it was over a year ago that United lost on the road and it was clear that either record was going to be broken by the time the full-time whistle was blown. City aimed to put the title race to bed with United hoping to close the gap as much as possible in the hope of mounting a late title push. In this tactical analysis, we will look at the tactics of both sides and our analysis will show the key reasons behind United’s impressive victory.
Lineups
The home side’s lineup was strong, with the defensive partnership of Rúben Dias and John Stones having been outstanding this season. João Cancelo had also been excellent with İlkay Gündoğan also impressing in recent times in the heart of the City midfield. Rodri was having a good season so far as well, with the talismanic Kevin De Bruyne coming back to form after missing games due to injury. The front three consisted of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez, with the former yet to score against Manchester United in over 20 games.
For United, Anthony Martial and Daniel James returned to the lineup, with the latter having been on good form recently. Scott McTominay also made the lineup after missing out in the mid-week fixture and partnered Fred in midfield. Victor Lindelöf started as well in place of Eric Bailly, with Dean Henderson between the sticks owing to David De Gea’s absence due to the birth of his child.
