“What is this?” That was the question on everyone’s lips when United announced their starting XI for the visit to Etihad. There were a few surprises, but most notably the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was left out of the starting XI due to unknown reasons. There was no indication as to exactly why he was left out, but few expected Antony to start the game, let alone in a competitive fixture- A Manchester Derby.
It was a bold decision, and one that would come back to bite the team. Antony didn’t have a bad game by any stretch, but let’s be honest, there was no way he was going to get close to what Ronaldo offers. The defence wasn’t quite as solid as it normally is, Manchester City registered 20 shots in 60mins, which is significantly more than the side has had in previous games.
It was an afternoon where you felt that United were always going to be on the back foot, and that was reflected in the fact that they spent the majority of the game in their own half. It was a team that was largely disjointed, and despite having decent spells, there was no real cohesion to the side.
See how the match unfolded as we present you with all the action from this trashing.
Line-up
- 31Ederson
- 2K. Walker
- 7João Cancelo
- 6N. Aké
- 25M. Akanji
- 8İ. Gündoğan
- 17K. De Bruyne
- 10J. Grealish
- 20Bernardo Silva
- 47P. Foden
- 9E. Haaland
Coach: Pep Guardiola
- David de Gea1
- R. Varane19
- Diogo Dalot20
- T. Malacia12
- Lisandro Martínez6
- C. Eriksen14
- Bruno Fernandes8
- S. McTominay39
- M. Rashford10
- J. Sancho25
- Antony21
Coach: E. ten Hag