Manchester United stunned rivals City with a late double as they came from behind to win the 195th Manchester derby 2-1 and add to Pep Guardiola’s woes.
It was Ruben Amorim’s second win over Guardiola in the space of six weeks after his Sporting side beat them 4-1 in the Champions League last month – and the first taste of a Manchester derby for the United boss.
City had led through Josko Gvardiol’s 36th minute header but Bruno Fernandes levelled from the penalty spot in the 88th minute before Amad Diallo, having won the spot-kick, completed the turnaround in the 90th minute, City’s eighth defeat in 11 across all competitions.
Here the PA news agency breaks down how the two managers approached the big match.
Pressure
There were plenty of banners celebrating City’s four consecutive Premier League titles before the match but also a feeling even before this result that dismal form has ended any hope of a fifth. Guardiola was already on the worst run of his managerial career as he battles a long injury list and a major loss of confidence in his aging squad. For United, Amorim had taken only four points from his first four games in charge with United yet to fully adapt to his system. There were still signs here that process has a long way to go, but this result will be a significant building block.
Line-ups
The headline news when the teams dropped was the absence of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from United’s squad, something Amorim said was down to “selection”, with neither player injured and both training at Carrington on Sunday morning. For City, Rico Lewis’ suspension meant Guardiola had only three fit and available senior defenders in Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Gvardiol, with Matheus Nunes asked to play a deeper role on the left. Ultimately Nunes’ lack of experience in defensively proved costly when it came to United’s equaliser, first giving the ball away and then conceding a penalty as he tried to make up for it.
Tactics
United’s shift to a 3-4-3 under Amorim is very much a work in progress, and his players often still look uncertain as to how they are supposed to be playing. Having conceded costly goals from corners in defeats to both Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, they did so here again. Guardiola was forced into changes yet again with only three fit defenders, but still fielded a very attacking line-up. Nunes did a decent job for much of the match as a makeshift left-back, but the game changed quickly after his errors led to the equaliser. United’s winner was a horror show from the City defence as Diallo ran on to a long ball virtually unchallenged before rounding Ederson.
Touchline behaviour
A new Guardiola banner was unveiled before kick off hailing the Catalan as ‘more than a coach’ – a play on the famous Barcelona slogan. But the 53-year-old needs to pull something out of the bag and soon to end a City crisis which is now spiralling. Even his team’s goal had an element of luck about it as what appeared to be a botched short corner ended with Gvardiol heading in a deflected cross. Guardiola simply shook his head as his players celebrated. He was shaking it again at full-time. Amorim, dressed in trainers and light brown trousers, spent much of the match crouching down like Marcelo Bielsa in need of a bucket. His frustration seemed to be growing in the second half as United dominated possession but lacked direction, before it all changed in a frantic ending few could have seen coming.
