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MOTD- Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City

By on March 25, 2014

It was all looking like Manchester United’s season might just be turning around for the good. Coming off the back of two wins, a 2-0 victory over West Ham United and a 3-0 triumph over Olympiakos to keep them in the Champions League, David Moyes was finally beginning to bring his side up after they recently struck rock bottom.  At least he was until Manchester City came in and brought United back down to earth.  United’s bitter rivals traveled to Old Trafford on the nearly the same run of form as Moyes’ side, but still came away having inflicted a derailing 3-0 win on their cross-town rivals.

There was never really even a contest at all, as a City opener just forty-two seconds, not minutes, seconds, in left United down for over ninety-three minutes of the match.  Manuel Pellegrini’s pushed forward from the get-go, and when Vincent Kompany’s low through-ball to Samir Nasri somehow found space to roll through to the left side of the box, Nasri rattled the inside of the left post with a blistering effort that rebounded back out to Edin Dzeko, who had the simplest of tap-ins at the far post to make it 1-0.  And just like that United’s dream of a minor upset win was crushed.  Their midfield began to lose the little structure it had, and everything fell apart.

City were dominant, finding themselves with way to much time in the midfield.  United desperately needed to cover David Silva and Yaya Toure, but utterly failed in doing so, with Silva charging in down the left of the box only to scuff a shot when it had just seemed to open up for him.  Unsurprisingly, that would not be the last great chance City had to double their lead, which they came so near to doing when a United clearance rebounded to Toure, who, more out of reaction than anything else, volleyed the ball forward to Silva.  Fortunately for City, Silva was wide open in the middle of the United box, and laid the ball off to Dzeko near the penalty spot, where the forward poked a sliding effort towards the corner that David De Gea just turned around the post.

Home fans tried to get behind their team, but Moyes’ ears were still ringing with Manchester City’s chants of “You’re a footballing genius.”  But the Red Devils did look dangerous on the break, and recorded their best chance of the half when Marouane Fellaini sliced Michael Carrick’s lofted cross from the right into the arms of Joe Hart with a side-volley in miles of space at the far post.  United began to grow into the game more, and kept 68% of possession between the twenty-ninth and fortieth minutes, in which they also came close as Juan Mata curled Rafael’s low cut-back from the right inches over the crossbar from fifteen yards.

However, City reasserted their dominance at the start of the second half.  Fernandinho came inches away from doubling the Sky Blues’ lead fifty-two minutes in, only to glance a six yards header over after Kompany had flicked a City corner to him from the near post.  Pellegrini’s side continued to push forward, and found their second some three minutes later as a completely unmarked Dzeko nipped in front of Rio Ferdinand at the near post before deftly guiding a volley into the top right corner.

It was only to get worse for United, who lacked any urge of pace, with Fernandinho rifling a screaming effort over the crossbar from twenty-five yards out soon after.  Danny Welbeck back-flicked Rafael’s waist-high cross from the right towards the right corner of the net in the seventy-second minute, but Hart fantastically blocked the effort with a reaction save to tip it wide, and Welbeck soon departed for Javier Hernandez.  “Chicharito” would end up without a single shot all night, yet did end up witnessing a goal when Toure pounced on James Milner’s deflected cross before stroking it into the bottom left corner from fifteen yards out to put the icing on the cake for City in the first minute of stoppage tine.  In the end, that would be the goal to make an unsatisfactory night for United turn from a minor blow to an embarrassment.  At this level of play, it won’t be the Red Devil’s last one either.
Man of the Match: Edin Dzeko

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.