short pants. In the players’ tunnel at Old Trafford, commotion broke out.
The light blue players and coaches have given their opinions on a ruling that could have a huge impact on the season.
Man United’s equalizer must have been controversial. But their overall effort in the derby was like night and day compared to last time.
Fred threw himself in front of Kevin De Bruyne’s feet a few meters outside the penalty area. Nahasi then completed the tackle and fired the ball wide as the Old Trafford crowd could be heard shouting their appreciation.
The team should be pretty much the same. But this was not the same Manchester United who were brutally humiliated at the Etihad Stadium in October. By then, many spectators were already turning to the half-time exit and Bruno Fernandes struggled to meet anyone’s gaze as he coyly apologized to the United fans afterwards.
Now there was an upbeat applause when referee Stuart Atwell announced half time. The efficiency in the final third may have faded, but Manchester City had an average xG – number of goals expected – of 0.13.
One explanation was Fred tagging De Bruyne on top of Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial covering Rodri. Pep Guardiola’s side without a well-functioning free midfield is missing its most important element.
Guardiola looked down
Erling Haaland fell deep trying to prop up the midfield and push a defensive player out of position. Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw, along with the midfield, it wasn’t easy. It was remarkable that the manager Erik ten Hag preferred to use the last English player over the “real” central defender in the team.
When Rodri pulled a side pass to absolutely no one and the ball went out for a throw-in, the United fans were in for another cheer. Guardiola lowered his gaze to the ground and pretended to straighten some imaginary piles with his foot.
However, keeping Kevin de Bruyne in check for the full 90 minutes is quite demanding. A few minutes before the Belgian kicked off and ran to the right of the penalty area, Guardiola decided to throw Jack Grealish. The wing being harassed less and less.
In the league meeting with Chelsea, Grealish came on and immediately played striker Riyad Mahrez, who scored the winning goal. Now he is perfectly positioned in De Bruyne’s position. Without being threatened, the Englishman nodded 1-0 to Man City and looked around in shock, amazed at what he had achieved.
Sudden judgment
At that moment it seemed to be over as usual. Guardiola was able to inject enough energy into his players to seize the three pointers and continue their pursuit of Arsenal at the top of the table.
What no one knew at the time was that the majority of the talk after that would be about Bruno Fernandes, the refereeing team, and the deep escapade of Marcus Rashford. Plus the fact that United, despite a sluggish start to the season, is suddenly one point behind their local rivals.
Rashford was offside when he ran after Casemiro’s pass in the 78th minute of the match. So far everyone agrees, even the Englishman himself realized his mistake at the right time. However, not everyone agrees whether he was so involved in the game that Fernandez’s goal should have been disallowed.
The Man City players certainly thought so, but the referees disagreed. There are no different referee experts that I turned to either.
I myself must confess that I was convinced that the goal would not be approved. Admittedly, Rashford does not touch the ball, but he does block central defender Manuel Akanji’s view. It is another example of how football can – above all – be understood very differently.
lucky them…
In this case, the equalizer led to renewed confidence in Man United. 18-year-old Alejandro Garnacho was substituted, turned on the edge and volleyed the ball to Rashford who only needed to press it into the goal to make it 2-1. The stands were filled with pure euphoria.
The feeling of the sun breaking out into the gray cloudy sky is symbolic in some way. The interpretation itself is free, because of course it is not particularly bright in the other part of Manchester.
Although Rodri was one of those who refused to acknowledge the result as “massive” after the final whistle, City’s reaction to the refereeing team was clearly in line with the scale of this loss. It is fortunate for them that Arsenal will face Tottenham tomorrow, a match far from the three points.
For Manchester United, the effort and the victory represented an opportunity to turn the page. Last fall, Erik ten Hag received a stiff welcome when he arrived. Now, in the middle of January, fans are finally loving most of what they can see.