Manchester United vs Man City: Five things we learned from the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg
Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City: Bernardo Silva starred for City once more in a Manchester derby as they took a major step towards the final at the expense of their lacklustre neighbours
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Your support makes all the difference.More derby delight for Silva as Guardiola selection pays off
Pep Guardiola opted to play Bernardo Silva instead of his typical strikers Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero, and the gamble paid off.
The former Monaco forward was excellent in the false nine role for Manchester City, opening the scoring in the 17th minute with a wonderful strike from outside the area into the top corner.
The Portuguese then fed Riyad Mahrez a perfectly weighted ball to provide the assist as City doubled their lead on 33 minutes.
The 25-year-old now has two goals and three assists in his last four appearances versus United and clearly enjoys playing against City’s rivals.
Silva’s versatility is one of his main assets – he has been used in central midfield and on either flank this season but Guardiola’s move to play him up front was a surprise selection. His skill and link-up with the slightly deeper Kevin De Bruyne and was too much for a centre-back pairing of Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones to handle.
Sterling’s drought continues despite City’s dominance
After starting on the bench in City’s last two matches, Raheem Sterling was deployed on the left wing but failed to make the same impact on the match as fellow forwards Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez.
The England star has now failed to score in any of his 18 league matches against Manchester United, for either Liverpool or Manchester City, despite being one of the most prolific forwards in the league.
Sterling has 20 goals this season but he continues to struggle against City’s neighbours and he was the quietest of City’s attackers in the derby.
Guardiola will not be concerned with Sterling’s performance, though. City blew United away in the first-half and the Spaniard will be far more concerned with the manner in which City lost their stranglehold on the match after the half-time break and conceded in the 70th minute.
Rudderless United falter again
Marcus Rashford wore the captain’s armband for Manchester United, becoming the sixth Red Devils player to lead his side out this season – after David de Gea, Jesse Lingard, Harry Maguire, Ashley Young and Nemanja Matic.
Remarkably, David de Gea and Jesse both started, so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to put the armband on yet another player is a strange one.
It represents the lack of real leaders at Manchester United, with current club captain Ashley Young not in the squad to face City and linked with a move away from Old Trafford due to his contract expiring in the summer.
David de Gea would seem an obvious replacement as captain having been at the club since 2011, but the goalkeeper has suffered a downturn in form over recent seasons and many United fans hoped Sergio Romero would remain in goal against City after keeping a clean sheet against Wolves in the FA Cup.
As such, Maguire – who missed the match after picking up a knock against Wolves – will likely take the armband once Young leaves. In the meantime, the captaincy merry-go-round will continue to hamper United’s form.
A goal made in United’s academy
United’s extensive injury list meant that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had no choice but to field youngsters in this match, but he should be praised for showing so much faith in United’s academy graduates.
Two such players combined as Mason Greenwood assisted Marcus Rashford’s effort as United picked up a goal in the second half to give them some faint hope in the second leg.
Both players are enjoying excellent campaigns – Marcus Rashford has scored 17 goals while Greenwood looks a real prospect. The 18-year-old scored four times in the Europa League group stages and has scored two goals in his last four league appearances.
However, not all academy graduates fared so well in the derby. Jesse Lingard was hauled off at half-time after picking up a booking and Andreas Pereira scored an unfortunate own goal.
Williams continues to show promise
The other academy graduate who started the match was Brandon Williams, who is continuing to make United’s left-back berth his own at the expense of the injury prone Luke Shaw.
Shaw has struggled with a hamstring injury and illness this season, while veteran Ashley Young is likely nearing the end of his time at Old Trafford – allowing Williams, 19, to feature more.
The Englishman has shone when given the opportunity, contributing to clean sheets in each of his three appearances in the Europa League and scoring in the league in the Red Devils’ 3-3 draw with Sheffield United.
Against City, Williams stood out against the rest of the United defence, showing endeavour and creativity throughout the match – especially as United grew into the fixture in the second-half.
Despite the negative result, Greenwood and Williams have emerged this season as two players to monitor closely.
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