Alex Keble highlights the key talking points from Manchester United's 2-1 victory at Manchester City.
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As the ball looped up off Amad’s boot and over a helpless Ederson it seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. The Etihad Stadium waited - in stunned silence - for the inevitable.
Such has been Manchester City’s recent form everybody inside the ground knew what would happen next: that a gritty and less than memorable Manchester derby was about to become one the red half of the city would never forget.
This was lift-off for Ruben Amorim, who became the first Manchester United manager to win his debut Manchester derby since Sir Alex Ferguson.
That’s the sort of record, the sort of comparison, that can kick-start the Amorim era.
Certainly beating their arch-rivals in dramatic fashion ought to spark into life a team that until now had failed to provide Amorim with a new-manager bounce.
Amad sets the tone Amorim was after
For most of this match, Man Utd were as restrained and lethargic as their opponents, Well, 10 of their 11 players were.
Amad was the star, his two late bursts of energy – first to win the penalty, then to score the winner – typical of a scurrying attacking performance that captured the best of what Amorim wants from his players.
The 22-year-old, playing as one of the inside forwards today, was perhaps the only attacking player who wasn’t the target of Amorim’s restless, prowling anger on the sidelines.
Amorim was not best pleased with Man Utd’s performance in possession, seeming to demand more energy and verticality throughout the second half in particular.
But the way Amad ran the right flank (he completed five dribbles, more than anyone else) to put Matheus Nunes under constant pressure, must surely have pleased his manager.
It is no coincidence Amad was the player alert to Nunes’ tame backpass that led to the penalty concession for the United equaliser, or that he was sharply onto Lisandro Martinez’s clipped through-ball in stoppage-time.
Indeed Amad's performance – his energy, his commitment to the cause – justified his manager’s team selection, which raised eyebrows when Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the squad altogether.
“I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to a game,” Amorim said before the match. “Everything. I make my evaluation and then I decide.”
Amad, as we all saw in those final actions, is clearly a player whose attitude, attention and mentality are in the right place for the Amorim revolution.
Man City errors familiar as injuries hit hard
That Amad would provide the finishing touch in stoppage-time seemed a forgone conclusion because, well, that’s just what is happening to Man City these days.
At the moment, almost everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
With 87 minutes on the clock Pep Guardiola’s side were 1-0 up and comfortable, but somehow conspired to lose their fifth Premier League match in the last seven with a double double of errors.
Nunes’ backpass, and rash challenge in the penalty area, allowed Bruno Fernandes to pull United level, before Ederson rushed out for a ball he could not claim and Josko Gvardiol let Amad’s shot trickle through his legs. Man City have now made 15 errors this Premier League season leading to shots or goals.
The winner was perhaps more a case of psychological vulnerability in the middle of Man City’s difficult patch, but Man Utd’s first goal can be put down to the hosts’ injury problems.
“What I want is my players back,” was Guardiola’s response to a pre-match question about January signings.
Injuries have certainly hit them hard, and most of all in defence, which is why Nunes was fielded out of position and in the back line today.
Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, John Stones, or Nathan Ake would surely not have compounded a short backpass with the foul on Amad that began Man Utd’s comeback.
Man City now out of top four – and Man Utd just five points behind
The result has enormous implications for both clubs.
Man City end the weekend outside the top four for the first time this season and with a trip to Villa Park up next could drop to sixth, and level on points with the club in ninth, by next Sunday.
The league table won’t be Guardiola’s main priority right now, mind. Of more immediate concern is how to pull Man City out of a spell that threatens to become a full-blown crisis.
City have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions, losing eight of them, and despite looking for a long time like successfully capitalising on Man Utd’s weakness from corners - 42 per cent of United’s Premier League goals conceded this season have come from them - never looked worth their lead.
Man City held just 50 per cent possession, their lowest share in the Premier League this season, and have won just half of their 16 matches in the competition.
But of all the statistics we could pluck to highlight the depths of Man City’s collapse, perhaps the most stark is that Man Utd are now just five points behind them in the table.
It just goes to show how bizarrely compressed the Premier League table has become – and therefore how quickly Man Utd could surge up the table if this victory signals the Amorim era bursting into life.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
Man City
MCI
|
16 | +5 | 27 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
16 | -1 | 25 |
| 7 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
15 | +3 | 24 |
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
16 | +2 | 24 |
| 9 |
Brighton
BHA
|
16 | +1 | 24 |
| 10 |
Spurs
TOT
|
16 | +17 | 23 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
16 | +2 | 23 |
| 12 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
16 | +2 | 23 |
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
16 | +2 | 22 |
It also shows that Man City have further to sink should Guardiola fail to stop the rot. They are only four points clear of the bottom half of the table.
As the clock ticked towards the 88th minute, it felt like a sleepy Manchester derby would end without much of a story.
An explosive few minutes later and Amad's winner has the potential to be the defining hinge point of both clubs’ seasons.
It’s up to Amorim’s players to make this victory the beginning of a new story. It’s up to Guardiola’s to use this shock defeat as motivation to finally put an end to the chaos.
