Man United and City Play out Draw – A Review

Manchester City tops the Premier League ranking despite their goalless draw with their rivals United in a derby at Old Trafford. Both had a golden chance to win the top-of-the-table-clash but none of them rose up to occasion and ended on a goalless note for the third time in their Premier League meeting till date. Let us now take a hard look at how Man United and City play out draw.

Dull Show

Man City had to play without Sergio Aguero and that created a significant void which Wilfried Bony failed to fill in. Yaya Toure was given jersey No 10 but he could not justify coach Manuel Pellegrini’s faith in him. United failed to prove they were a better side than their city competitor. With just 10 minutes to go, they conjured some magic but that did not change the fate of the match. United skipper Wayne Rooney could not find the back of the net and needed stapling of his head following a clash with Vincent Kompany.

A Jesse Lingard shot rattled the woodwork while Chris Smalling tested Joe Hart. However, the travelling keeper was not put through the paces except in those two occasions.. Rooney tried to produce an ignited show by threatening the travelers’ defence. Toure brought down the England international but narrowly escaped warning. Juan Mata cried for a penalty when the ball hit Fernandinho's arm. However, referee Mark Clattenburg did not pay attention to his call.

The Brazil international challenged Anthony Martial and was booked for his offence. Martial was an exception in the hosts’ team as he was the only player to unleash threat in the first half.  The France international was awarded a free-kick after his clever trick against Bacary Sagna but the home side failed to make a good use of it. With Valencia undergoing treatment for his injury, Rooney jumped to the touchline. Blood was oozing out of his head after he collided with Kompany. The medical staff rushed to the spot and stapled his wound. 

Toure squandered two half chances before the interval but otherwise, City offered little threat to Man U. Marcos Rojo did a good job as he gave no space to Kevin De Bruyne. Former Liverpool star Raheem Sterling never looked to be in his elements and proved very ineffective for City. Coach Pellegrini took him off the ground and introduced Jesus Navas in the second half. Marouane Fellaini and Lingard arrived to represent United whereas City launched Martin Demichelis to replace Toure who was an utter disappointment for the citizens.

Man United and City play out draw – Last few minutes

However, their introduction did nothing to change the texture or color of the match and none of them could make a breakthrough. Mata managed to break through the travelling defence line and it left City panicky though Hurt was able to frustrate the Spain international. Lingard thought to have hit the net with just five minutes to go. Martial collected the ball from Navas but his shot went over Hurt but only to hit the crossbar ahead of sailing away to safety.