Lethal Lukaku strikes... but at the wrong end
NOTHING summed up the difference between these teams better than the sight of Romelu Lukaku comically miskicking a clearance into Chris Smalling’s backside to set up Manchester City’s winner.
Lukaku was signed for £75million in the summer to pose a threat in front of goal. Manchester United never reckoned it would be their own. The striker had a derby to forget, inadvertently contributing to both City goals — one at a corner, the other a free-kick. And we thought Pep Guardiola’s team might be vulnerable at set-pieces.
This is not a City side who need help scoring. What better place to celebrate a record 14th straight top-flight victory in a season and end United’s 40-game unbeaten home run? It means City have opened up an 11-point lead over their closest rivals on a weekend when Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool dropped points.
It may be premature to say the title race is over, but can anyone stop them? Jose Mourinho moaned about the penalty he thought his team should have been awarded for Nicolas Otamendi’s late challenge on Ander Herrera, but Herrera got away with two of his own in the first half on Otamendi and Gabriel Jesus in a physical and sometimes bad-tempered derby.
And Mourinho’s argument conveniently ignored the fact United were second best in almost every area of the pitch.
City had 65 per cent possession in a game that followed the pre- match predictions of the home team defending in depth and hoping to hit their opponents on the break.
‘Park the bus, park the bus, Man United,’ sang the visiting fans, but at times they had no choice. United had just 10 touches in the City box, including three for Lukaku. Mourinho left talking about ‘ lucky’ City but that was graceless from a manager who has now lost 10 of 20 contests with Guardiola, winning just four.
The match was brought to life by some good old-fashioned derby tackles as Kyle Walker was booked inside the first five minutes, before Nemanja Matic escaped punishment for clipping Walker.
Vincent Kompany then brought protests from United, ploughing into Herrera, before Marcos Rojo and David Silva needed treatment after the former flew into the back of the latter to win a header.
Rojo came off worse with a cut to his forehead before walking to the touchline to change his bloodstained shirt.
A battle would have suited Mourinho more, but City still produced good attacking football and could have taken the lead before Silva struck in the 43rd minute.
Smalling got enough of a challenge on Raheem Sterling to take the sting out of his shot at David de Gea, and Jesus produced an equally tame effort at the United keeper after leaving Rojo on his backside. But Guardiola’s side drew first blood after Leroy Sane had forced a fantastic reflex save from De Gea.
From the resulting corner, Lukaku knocked the ball back towards his own goal under pressure from Otamendi and Silva, played onside by Ashley Young, hooked it home from close range. United had to change their game and did so immediately. Anthony Martial forced Ederson into his first real save of the half before Marcus Rashford equalised.
Poor defending was partly to blame again. Otamendi failed to cut out Rojo’s cross and the ball bounced awkwardly off Fabian Delph, before Rashford calmly hit it first-time across Ederson.
The goal breathed life into this derby and, for a while, the title race. But this City team are too good and they retook the lead nine minutes after half-time when Herrera was penalised for a foul on Jesus. Silva swung a free-kick to the edge of the six-yard box where Lukaku had time to weigh up what to do next.
He chose to clear first time, but aimed the ball straight at Smalling. It deflected to Otamendi who volleyed past a helpless De Gea.
Old Trafford implored United to find another gear, but when Herrera went down from Otamendi’s challenge inside the box, he was rewarded with a yellow card and not a penalty.
There was still time for Lukaku’s day to go from bad to worse when Martial’s cross reached him in front of goal in the 84th minute.
The £75m man placed his firsttime shot straight into the face of Ederson. The chance had gone and so too had United’s hopes of catching their neighbours anytime soon. It is a long way back now.