Manchester United hosted irreconcilable rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford, and Eric ten Hag sought to record the mistakes of the first match against Pep Guardiola’s team.
The game was decisive: United needed to consolidate their status in the battle for the top four, while City sought to reduce the gap from the league leader, Arsenal.
Ten Hug fielded a completely different starting line-up than the one that won against Charlton. David de Gea is back between the sticks. Luke Shaw stood next to Raphael Varane, while Aaron Van Bissaka and Tyrell Malasia patrolled the flanks.
Fred and Casemiro formed the midfield support with Christian Eriksen ahead of the Brazilian duo. Anthony Martial led the line with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandez on either side of him.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Fantastic first half
United were outstanding in the opening 45 minutes and did well to limit their noisy neighbours.
Despite the fact that City had the ball more than twice, they failed to score on target in the first period of the decisive derby.
United struck four shots, two of which hit the target. On the other hand, City recorded two shots, and neither of them challenged De Gea.
The Red Devils were solid defensively and limited City to crumbs. In fact, the team never looked in danger of missing out, mainly due to the fact that Ten Hag was coaching a master class on defense.
The midfield was doing its job, led by Casemiro and the unrestrained Fred, who found himself on the field in a variety of places. Varane and Shaw also succeeded in getting Erling Haaland out of the game. The Norwegian barely smelled it!
Malasia had a Marez where he wanted, as did Van Bissaki with a dim Phil Foden.
Rashford had the two best chances in the first half and should have made better use of both, including one when he had an open goal with one central defender who had to be bypassed after Ederson found himself in neutral.
Ten Hag would undoubtedly regret the missed opportunities of his team, but would be pleased with the overall performance against one of the best teams in the country.
Fred was great
Fred started in a Premier League game for the first time in a long time and repaid Ten Hag for believing in him.
The 29-year-old athlete did a great job covering the ground and injecting energy into the center of the park.
First of all, he was tasked with tracking down Kevin de Bruyne, but Fred stuck to the Belgian like a fly and effectively neutralized him, especially in the first half.
His passing was good, and his defensive play could not be blamed.
He extended a helping hand to Malasia against Marez, and also made sure that the Dutchman did not get into the double team of rivals.
Fred’s performance level dropped momentarily in the second half, but mostly it was due to the team’s downfall and the constant loss of possession.
The Ten Haga Revolution is quickly taking shape
United’s brilliant comeback shows that Ten Haga’s methods are taking shape at Old Trafford.
When preparing for the game, the United boss paid great attention to the mood, winning mentality and perseverance. He was calling for something completely different than the beating in the first match.
His players listened and gave him this and much more.
After the second period started on a low note, Fernandes’ equaliser gave the team the much-needed boost it needed.
The players rediscovered themselves, rallied, and Alejandro Garnacho lit a spark to organize a comeback.
The Argentine performed brilliantly in the penalty area and gave the perfect ball to Rashford to win the match against City.
United fans have something to expect from Ten Hag, and today was proof of that. Come on Arsenal!
