Since I have covered the Manchester Derby, I’ve seen Old Trafford oscillate between a theatre of dreams and a house of horrors. On Saturday, however, it felt like a time machine. There was a crisp, vintage energy in the air as Michael Carrick, the man who once quietly conducted the United midfield, returned to the dugout to orchestrate a 2-0 masterclass that left Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City looking surprisingly ordinary. Here are my four observations of the game:
- The first thing that struck me was the tactical disconnect in City’s engine room. Pep’s insistence on a rigid 3-1 build-up structure felt like a square peg in a round hole against Carrick’s high-intensity press. By isolating Rodri and cutting the supply lines to the rest of the midfield, United effectively strangled City’s momentum before it could even cross the halfway line. It was a brave, calculated gamble by Carrick, who clearly identified that if you starve the heart, the rest of the body follows.
- This brings us to the most glaring weakness: City’s left flank. United didn’t just press; they targeted the youth of Max Alleyne and the fading pace of Nathan Ake with surgical precision. By denying any meaningful access to Antoine Semenyo on the right, United forced the game into the feet of Aké and Alleyne, who looked increasingly under the cosh. Watching Ake, it’s hard not to feel that the Dutch international is starting to look like a shadow of his former self. He offered little in the way of offensive thrust and, even after shifting to centre-back alongside Abdukodir Khusanov in the second half, he seemed a step behind the play- a sobering sight for a player who was once the gold standard of technical defending.
- Had it not been for the sprawling brilliance of Gianluigi Donnarumma, we’d be talking about a historic routing. The Italian was City’s lone warrior, producing a string of highlight-reel saves that kept the scoreline respectable. To be “let down” by your teammates is a cliché, but in this case, it was the literal truth; without Donnarumma, this could have easily ended 5-0 or 6-0.
- But the day belonged to a familiar face in red. Bruno Fernandes was the undisputed conductor of the orchestra. His performance was a masterclass in “long-ball” threat, consistently testing a high City line that seemed caught in two minds. Whether he was assisting Bryan Mbeumo or playing the “hockey assist” for Patrick Dorgu, Bruno was pulling the strings with a veteran’s poise.
Despite the result, we have to acknowledge that this City side is still a vast improvement on the confusing mess of last year. The transition phase is rarely linear, and while the “City machine” currently has a few gears grinding, the foundation, especially the growth of young Khusanov, suggests they aren’t far off. However, in the immediate aftermath of this derby, the bragging rights belong firmly to the red half of Manchester. Carrick has made his mark, and City have some serious soul-searching to do.
