Manchester United beat impostor syndrome with boilover defeat of Manchester City in derby

One of their own, and one of their favourites, made his way from the pitch: Marcus Rashford applauded modestly but Bruno Fernandes whipped up the Stretford End with a mad grin and windmilling arms. Scenes from a revival. Manchester United supporters have waited a long time to see their team abandon a posture of meek inferiority in Manchester derbies. And here they did so, goals from Rashford and Fernandes securing a famous fightback.

It was a win that confirmed the remarkable progress Erik ten Hag is making. A result that also furthered the impression that something significant is up with Manchester City. They could be eight points behind Arsenal by Sunday and United are one point behind on their tail.

Are United in the title race? Should Arsenal lose the north London derby and United win their next two matches, the Manchester club could go level with the Premier League leaders. “The fans may dream but we [do] not,” Ten Hag said. “We have to keep our feet on the ground and [accept] our game has to improve.”

It does but, my, this was progress. Thanks to sound defending (the centre back pairing of Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane was brilliant) and astute midfield positioning, United controlled City for 45 minutes while cutting through with clever counterattacks. Then City seized the initiative – and the lead – during the first half-hour of the second period. In so many Manchester derbies in the Pep Guardiola era, City have been able to mercilessly turn one goal into three or four.

This time United had the belief and the quality to not only stop that happening but also to score a burst of goals themselves – two of them in four minutes. Fernandes’s equaliser, though, owed much to a generous application of the offside laws.

Casemiro played a through-ball and Rashford, clearly starting from an offside position, chased it closely but did not touch it. From behind him, Fernandes arrived from an onside position to curl past Ederson from 18 yards.

Was Rashford active? The laws say a player is offside if they are “preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball” or make an action that “clearly impacts the ability of an opponent to play the ball”. Manuel Akanji, who called the goal “a joke”, was three yards away, with Rashford between him and the ball. Darren Cann, the assistant referee, flagged for offside and City were incandescent with rage when VAR overturned the decision – without Stuart Attwell, the referee, reviewing it.

That was 1-1, in the 78th minute, and belief surged through Ten Hag’s team and their supporters. Four minutes later Fernandes released the substitute Alejandro Garnacho, who held possession in City’s penalty area.

Kyle Walker blocked the youngster’s cross but then switched off when Garnacho collected possession again and spun away from Nathan Ake to whip the ball in. Rashford, running off the static Walker, buried a finish from close range.

The difference in United, compared with nearly every Manchester derby involving Guardiola, was confidence and it was ambition. They were not a side hoping just to hang in the game and steal the odd something; there was strategy, control and assurance about their approach. There was brave passing and composure in possession under pressure. Once, such things were standard at the club – but it feels aeons since they were on show as regularly as under Ten Hag.

In the first half they blocked City’s passing lanes and pressed at the right times to force mistakes before counterattacking with delicacy, using clearly rehearsed patterns. Confidence and ambition shone from Ten Hag’s decision to retain Shaw at centre back. A feature of United’s defending was how well Shaw and Varane were always positioned, especially when City played their habitual low balls into the area.

City could not get the supply line to Erling Haaland right. Guardiola is asking Haaland to drop deep more often (why?) and the striker had only one touch in United’s area in the first half, hitting a powerful strike that a diving duo of Fred and Casemiro charged down.

Guardiola was right to say City were better than in their Carabao Cup defeat by Southampton, but they were still uncharacteristically untidy with Joao Cancelo overhitting crosses, Kevin De Bruyne being hunted effectively by Fred, and Ederson’s distribution erratic.

After ten minutes, United threaded their way through City’s press with well-judged passes from Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, who played Fernandes into City’s area, but he shot wide. Later in the half, in quick succession, Rashford went clear twice, with Fernandes and Eriksen supplying fine passes. On the first occasion Ederson rushed out and Rashford rounded him but shot without conviction, allowing Akanji to clear. On the second, Rashford overran the ball.

Two factors made it a different game after half-time. One was Guardiola, who refocused his side at the interval and improved them by replacing an injured Phil Foden with a hungry Jack Grealish.

The other was Anthony Martial being replaced by Antony. Martial had not looked fit but provided a focal point. Antony couldn’t do that, meaning Rashford moved to the middle.

Getting their passing going at last, City moved the ball more sharply and strategically, working it to Riyad Mahrez and De Bruyne to cause damage. De Bruyne escaped Fred, exchanged passes with Mahrez, went down the line and spun an excellent cross to Bernardo Silva, who tried to head to Foden – only for Varane to step in.

The next time Mahrez and De Bruyne combined it was deadly. Mahrez fed a lovely ball into the area where De Bruyne made a surprise run into a central channel. Drawing Varane out of position, De Bruyne then stood up a gorgeous cross and Grealish thundered in to beat Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the ball and head it in.

Guardiola’s team seemed their old selves again and you fully expected them to pull away for another derby win. But this is not the same United – and not the same City.

– The Sunday Times

Originally published as Manchester United beat impostor syndrome with boilover defeat of Manchester City in derby