It was the battle of the twenty-one’s in Manchester, as City hosted United. City’s twenty-one match winning streak versus United’s twenty-one match unbeaten away form.
In the end, it would be Manchester United who would stand victorious over their bitter rivals, as a Bruno Fernandes penalty, followed by a Luke Shaw second-half finish ensured Manchester would be red.
Below is our ratings, as we score each player out of ten.
Manchester City Player Ratings:
Ederson – Unlucky not to deny Fernandes from the penalty spot, despite getting a strong hand to it. Couldn’t do anything to stop Shaw’s goal, but produced a brilliant save to deny Martial late on. 7/10
Joao Cancelo – Well off the pace, having set a high bar with his performances this season Cancelo failed to reach it. Struggled to deal with Rashford and Shaw. In a defence full of high performances, Cancelo’s poor showing stood out like a sore thumb. Rightly subbed off for Walker. 4/10
John Stones – Before this game, the partnership of Stones/Dias were unbeaten in all games they’d played together, and it was easy to see why. Winning 8/10 of his duels and without committing a foul Stones put in another brilliant performance, his resurgence this season continues. 6/10
Ruben Dias – Just like his centre-back partner, Dias again was a rock in the Manchester City defence. Dealt with United’s counter-attacks well, and far from at fault for either goal. 6/10
Oleksandr Zinchenko – An ok, if unremarkable showing from Zinchenko. Did well to test Henderson with a stinging shot in the first-half, and produced some great passes. Admittedly looked uncomfortable dealing with United’s pace at times. 6/10
Rodri – Easily the best of City’s midfielders, Rodri controlled the game, no small feat without Fernandinho alongside him. Won all but one of his eight duels and came within inches of scoring a City goal as he hit the crossbar. 8/10
Ilkay Gundogan – Had multiple chances to bring Manchester City back into the game and rushed them all. A few good passes but visibly frustrated throughout the game. 5/10
Kevin De Bruyne – City’s captain on the day, De Bruyne underwhelmed failing to make any real impact on the game. Losing possession the most of any player on the pitch, and with below 80% pass accuracy. De Bruyne was noticeably sloppy and looked panicked throughout. 5/10
Riyad Mahrez – Always looked the most threatening of Manchester City’s attack, Mahrez showed off with skills and speed. Having his best season in a City shirt, Sunday’s game was another solid performance. 6/10
Gabriel Jesus – Shocking performance from start to finish from Jesus as he was given yet another chance to cement himself as City’s starting striker for the future. Needlessly brought down Martial for the penalty and his day didn’t get any better. Fortunate to last seventy minutes, before Foden’s introduction. 3/10
Raheem Sterling – Another poor performance from a City attacker, Sterling offered little in the way of real threat. Noticeably quiet throughout the game, his search for his first Manchester derby goal goes on. 4/10
Manchester City Subs:
Kyle Walker – A marked improvement over Cancelo when coming on, perhaps fortunate to mark James not Rashford after the latter went off injured. 6/10
Phil Foden – Strong impact off the bench, probably should’ve been introduced sooner. 6/10
Manchester United Player Ratings:
Dean Henderson – In perhaps his audition for a regular starting role in the Manchester United team Henderson excelled. Challenged on multiple occasions but, more than delivered. 7/10
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – Really impressive display from AWB, muted Sterling’s attacking ability and offered an attacking threat himself at times. Has come on leaps and bounds this year, and against City, this was another example of this. 7/10
Victor Lindelof – Credit where credit is due Lindelof was a key part of United’s defensive wall. With Eric Bailly waiting in the wings, Lindelof staked his claim to remain in the United team. 8/10
Harry Maguire – Targeted at times by the City attackers Maguire rose to the challenge. Maguire and Lindelof’s chemistry in big games was once again key to them picking up yet another consecutive clean sheet. 7/10
Luke Shaw – With the Euro’s rapidly approaching Shaw showed why he has to be amongst Gareth Southgate’s England squad. His goal was an exceptional finish after a long run, undoubtedly the best left-back in the country right now. 8/10
Scott McTominay – Having picked up a goal in this fixture last season McTominay has many arrows in his quiver, but, it was his defensive ability that stood out on Sunday. Worked well with Fred and therefore, made his defenders job easy. 6/10
Fred – Pressed exceptionally during the game, and kept the City midfield on their toes. On the other hand, gave the ball away at times needlessly. 7/10
Daniel James – In the same vein as Sterling for City, James went missing at times when United were attacking. Produced a darting run late in the first-half but after that, made little impression on the game. However, put a shift in on the defensive end when called upon. 5/10
Bruno Fernandes – Managed to sneak his penalty past Ederson despite the Brazilian keepers best efforts. Pressed well throughout and looked threatening during the game, but not one of his best matches in a United shirt. 6/10
Marcus Rashford – Performed well against Cancelo picking up his assist for Shaw’s goal but, perhaps should have left with a goal as well. His chemistry with Shaw during this season was again on full display. Worryingly went off injured with seventeen minutes left. 6/10
Anthony Martial – Martial’s best performance for Man United in a very long time. Pressed with intensity and above all else was a real threat on the attacking end. Won the penalty for United’s opener, should have grabbed a goal in addition to that only for Ederson to deny him. 8/10
Manchester United Subs:
Mason Greenwood – Performed little of note in his cameo of an appearance, but, did well defensively against Foden to deny a close-range shot. 6/10
Nemanja Matic and Brandon Williams – Both had just a few minutes on the pitch as the game wound shut, nothing to report on. N/A
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