Monday 13 April 2015 08:35, UK
We look at five talking points from Manchester United's 4-2 win over rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford...
United on the rise, City demise?
The result moves third-placed Manchester United four points clear of City and takes them to 65 points – one more than they collected in the whole of the 2013/14 season.
For United fans, the future looks bright. Gary Neville told Sky Sports the victory will give his former team “enormous confidence”, while Niall Quinn reckons the display on Sunday was “the best Manchester United performance since the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson”.
As for City, the 4-2 reverse was their eighth defeat in their last 14 matches in all competitions, extinguishes any lingering title ambitions – and raises serious questions over Manuel Pellegrini’s future as manager.
“It’s getting pretty messy for him,” said Quinn. “Messrs Begiristain and Soriano [the City director of football and CEO] will leave Old Trafford today and have doubts in their minds about him. They have to report to the owners - who want to rule the soccer world over night - that this man is struggling a bit. That could cause him a big problem.”
Neville agreed: “It’s a cross-roads moment for this team. The owner will want answers. People will have to convince the owner they can trust him moving forward.”
Ashley Young is back at his best
Few would have predicted Ashley Young would be one of the stars of Louis van Gaal’s first season in charge of Manchester United but the 29-year-old, who has worked diligently at full-back and wing-back this term, has been a shining light amid United’s mixed performances.
Last month Young said: "The manager has been fantastic. He gives you the confidence to play and confidence helps massively. I can only repay him with my performances on the pitch."
Against Man City on Sunday he indeed repaid his boss. "He’s been excellent today," Neville said as he named Young man of the match.
His goal - which came from his speed and commitment to beat Gael Clichy to Ander Herrera’s centre - pulled United back level after City’s bright start, before his inch-perfect crosses for Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling teed up a memorable victory for the home fans.
City couldn't cope with Marouane Fellaini
Fellaini’s aerial threat is hardly one of United's secret weapons but knowing about the Belgian’s strengths and dealing with them are two different things.
When asked whether his team coped with Fellaini, Pellegrini said: “Yaya Toure marked him very well in the first half." That was a view rejected by the Sky Sports pundits. Of course, by half-time Fellaini had headed United into a 2-1 lead, after playing a part in Young’s equaliser.
The United man won 75 per cent of 12 aerial duels and gave Clichy little chance of beating him to Young’s cross midway through the first period. "The problem is Man City don’t realise the best header of the ball on the pitch is ghosting around the back post," Quinn said when analysing the goal. "They’ve got two big centre-halves who don’t look around once and Clichy doesn’t defend as well as he might. It was great play by Fellaini but you’d expect City to spot him."
Yaya Toure continues to struggle in the big games
"He can’t play in a two in midfield against any team of quality," was Neville’s scathing assessment of Yaya Toure, after the 31-year-old’s performance at Old Trafford.
The Ivorian had been pulled up for his displays against Barcelona in the Champions League and on Sunday was criticised for a failure to protect the City defence and track Juan Mata for United’s third.
"Before the game, I asked ‘is Yaya Toure able to match Fellaini in that pocket?’," said Neville. "He didn’t. He paid no attention to him at all. It was a complete dereliction of duty.
"Vincent Kompany nearly got sent off when he came out into that space and they gave the third goal away with Martin Demichelis stepping into that space, leaving a gap between Pablo Zabaleta and Eliaquim Mangala. There is too much evidence he cannot do his job in the big matches."
Graeme Souness was equally unimpressed with Toure’s defensive contribution, adding: "He’s a real conundrum. When he is playing and he has the ball at his feet he’s a real threat going forward. But for the last two years he’s been a liability when you don’t have the ball. He doesn’t want to take part and do the dirty side."
"I would suggest Man City lost out today tactically because Yaya was all at sea in his defensive duties," concluded Quinn.
Michael Carrick pulls the strings for United
Michael Carrick’s contribution is often unheralded. After all, the midfielder only has two assists and one goal in the Premier League this season. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been key to Manchester United’s successes this season: they’ve won 11 of the 15 league games he’s started.
Against Manchester City, he was the focal point of United’s play. Carrick made 62 passes - more than any player on the pitch - and registered a pass completion rate of 91.9 per cent, more than any starter.
"I really enjoyed his performance today," said Souness. "Like anybody who does something really, really well, he makes it look so easy. You think, 'no one put him under pressure' but every touch of the ball took it away from the man trying to mark him. He’s so fluid.
"Yes, he could score more goals and show more aggression. But that was a near-perfect performance from a central midfield player who positions himself in front of his back four. When he got on the ball, he kept it moving all the time. He was fabulous."
