CAVANI WAS SORELY MISSED POGBA OVERSHADOWS FERNANDES VS DE BRUYNE DUEL
WITH Edinson Cavani ruled out with injury, Anthony Martial might have been forgiven for assuming he would start this contest.
In normal circumstances, surely Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have found space for his mercurial No.9, but that mercury has been running cold far too often this season and Martial was understandably benched as the diamond midfield returned behind Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.
Solskjaer spoke about the need for United to defend from the front and against City’s neat passing and it was clear from the outset that Rashford and Greenwood were (partially, at least) picked for this very reason.
It was just a shame their sights of Ederson’s City goal were so few and far between throughout a tentative encounter.
It took
Solskjaer 73 minutes to usher on Martial, replacing Greenwood — who looked downcast but not disgraced — though it was hard to shake the feeling that Cavani would have brought greater impetus off the bench. Martial was barely involved.
The Uruguayan would have relished a game like this, even one with such a slow tempo and without supporters inside Old Trafford. A repeat of his Southampton heroics would have been unlikely, but fans will never know and Cavani must wait for his derby debut.
If, pre-match, this derby had been billed as a showdown between Bruno Fernandes and Kevin de Bruyne then there was a spanner thrown in the works an hour before kick-off.
Paul Pogba has always dominated headlines at Old Trafford and will continues to do so, even after his inevitable exit. But his selection, which Solskjaer explained was due to improved fitness levels, was surely rooted in Pogba’s derby day pedigree.
It was amid a torrent of criticism and Raiola controversy in April 2018, let’s not forget, that Pogba turned a dramatic derby on its head at the Etihad, scoring a brace to seal a 3-2 United win. He didn’t reach those levels on this occasion, though he was very solid. Fernandes and De Bruyne traded early blows in the media before the game, though in a more respectful manner than two heavyweight boxers.
And although each No.10 surged down their side’s right flank early on, and showed flickers of their immense talent, it was a cagey game in which both players were denied space throughout. Pogba impressed more than either, in the end, which was indicative of a game where the flair of two outstanding No.10s was at a premium.