(Manchester United – Manchester City 0-0) A “canceled” penalty was the closest to a decision at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford was played through and fouled by compatriot Kyle Walker, who was saved by VAR breaking in and refereeing offside.
It was a strangely tame and content-poor Manchester derby where the teams seemed to neutralize each other completely.
– Defensively we were fantastic. I’m very happy with the defensive form. With the ball, we did not create as much as we would like, says Ole Gunnar Solskjær to Sky Sports.
– In my time as manager, this is our best performance against Manchester City. Not the best result, but the best performance.
– Really?
– I think so.
That it took almost 80 minutes before Harry Maguire scored for the match’s first yellow card, however, says most about the lack of temperature and intensity.
– The worst Manchester derby in modern history, believes Independentwriter Miguel Delaney.
He’s not the only one who got bored.
– What a bad match this is, commented ex-player Don Hutchison on Twitter.
– Speechless, quite lifeless and desperate longing for spectators, writes Henry Winter in The Times.
– It will be a different atmosphere without the fans. None of us created many chances. It is probably a clean cage, but for us it was frustrating that we did not come from here with more, says Manchester City stopper John Stones to Sky Sports.
Manchester United were at least much more compact than they were in the Champions League exit against Leipzig.
– The mental energy you use to recover on Tuesday night is high, so I think the boys deserve praise, says Solskjær.
—DUEL: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Pep Guardiola. Foto: PAUL ELLIS / X01348
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The Bruyne genius
Both teams created a couple of half-dangers on a dead ball, but it took over half an hour before some of the teams managed to get a finish on goal.
Three minutes after Paul Pogba had overlooked a great opportunity to drop the ball to an open Mason Greenwood, Kevin de Bruyne showed his insane overview.
The Belgian released the ball on a touch to Riyad Mahrez, but David de Gea characteristically saved with his legs.
—Just after the break, Manchester United thought they got a penalty kick. Chris Kavanagh pointed to the penalty spot when Marcus Rashford was fouled, but VAR intervened as the United striker was half a meter offside.
A little later, Rashford tried a shot with his left foot, but the ball went a few meters to the side for goal.
Kevin de Bruyne got a good opportunity midway through the second half. Victor Lindelöf, who was a prominent figure with several important involvements, however, blocked the Belgian’s attempt.
Solskjær’s impressive Pep statistics
Thus, the match ended without goals. It is the third time in a row that Manchester City goes goalless off the field against Manchester United.
That represents a solid share of the 23 times Manchester City have left the field without scoring under Pep Guardiola (in a total of 252 games).
Manchester City and Manchester United have met six times under Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s leadership.
– I know we beat them a couple of times last season, but it was different matches. We were more in the game and had the ball more, says Solskjær to Sky Sports.
The red shirts won both matches in the league last season (2-1 away and 2-0 at home). Manchester City pulled the longest straw in the league cup, where they won 3-1 at Old Trafford and lost 0-1 at the Etihad.
Manchester United is now four points behind league leader Tottenham with the same number of games played. City follow one point behind.
Published: 12.12.20 at 20:20
Updated: 12.12.20 at 21:13
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