Football: a landmark win for Manchester United?
By the end of the “breakneck” derby last Saturday, “Manchester was red and Manchester City were aghast”, said Jonathan Northcroft in The Sunday Times. City’s 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United left them 14 points behind the leaders, Liverpool, effectively putting an end to their hopes of retaining the title. They were beaten by a stunning United performance – the finest since Ole Gunnar Solskjær became manager. Again and again, the Red Devils mounted “extraordinary” counter-attacks that shredded City’s defence. Two goals up within the first half hour, they could easily have scored four or five before half-time. Coming three days after an impressive 2-1 win over Tottenham, it left them just five points outside the top four.
It felt like a landmark moment for Solskjær’s
United side, said David Walsh in the same paper. He has staked his job on backing his young players, and “he was rewarded” here. His tactics worked to perfection: his attackers, particularly the 22-year-old winger Daniel James, made the most of their lightning pace, exploiting the spaces left unguarded when City attacks broke down. And it wasn’t just the attackers: Aaron WanBissaka, the 22-year-old right-back, stalked Raheem Sterling with “old-fashioned tenacity”; Fred, in midfield, hounded City and “still had the energy to join many counter-attacks”. But “the defining note” in this team is Marcus Rashford, said Barney Ronay in The Observer. He is perhaps the finest attacking player in the country right now. His “speed, skill and grace” have never been in doubt; until this season, however, his finishing had often failed him. No longer: he scored the opening goal, a penalty, on Saturday, and now has 13 goals in his last 14 games for club and country. In that opening half hour he was, like the rest of United’s attackers, simply “irresistible”.
Now United have to find a way to do this every week, said Paul Hayward in The Sunday Telegraph. Against top sides, their record this season is very strong indeed. In addition to those wins over City and Tottenham, they have beaten Chelsea and Leicester, and drawn with Liverpool. Against weaker opposition, however, they are far too inconsistent: they have been beaten by Bournemouth and West Ham. “One good game in three is not acceptable.” Nor is Manchester City’s recent form, said Sam Wallace in the same paper. Over the previous two seasons, they lost just six matches; this time round, they have already lost four in 16 games. The obvious weakness is the defence, where Aymeric Laporte, who suffered a terrible knee injury in August, is sorely missed. But the problems go beyond that: this team is starting to look “slow and vulnerable”. Their “aura of invincibility has slipped”.