November 06, (THEWILL) –Â Manchester City humbled rivals Manchester United with a comprehensive 2-0 derby victory on Saturday in the Premier League.
Pep Guardiola’s team had lost all four of their previous league encounters with United, but they were rightfully two goals up at the break.
Eric Bailly became the first United player in Premier League history to score an own goal against City, and Bernardo Silva took advantage of some shoddy defending to score a second just before the break.
United, who were thrashed 5-0 by Liverpool in their most recent meeting at Old Trafford, failed to respond in the second half, adding to the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United had kept three consecutive clean sheets against City in the league, but they fell behind as Bailly sliced Joao Cancelo’s flying cross from the left into his own net after just seven minutes.
Only David de Gea kept the score down as City took complete control. Cristiano Ronaldo had a powerful volley saved by Ederson, United’s only on-target attempt of the first half, but only David de Gea kept the score down as City took complete control.
However, De Gea could do nothing about the second goal after Bernando Silva snuck in behind Luke Shaw and turned in Cancelo’s cross from a close angle.
In a much quieter second period, chances were scarce, with the visitors coming closest to scoring late on as a Phil Foden effort brushed the outside of the post.
City may not have scored five goals in this match like Liverpool did two weeks ago, but the style of victory was just as easy and never in doubt from the moment they scored their second goal.
United have already lost eight games in all competitions at Old Trafford this calendar year, their worst such record since 1989, and could fall 11 points behind Chelsea if they beat Burnley later on Saturday.
Meanwhile, following last week’s shock 2-0 setback at home to Crystal Palace, Guardiola’s players looked far more like their regular selves as they closed to within two points of leaders Chelsea, who have that game in hand.
The Red Devils have now conceded at least once in each of their last 14 home games in all competitions, their longest run without a clean sheet at Old Trafford since a club-record run of 21 between April 1958 and March 1959.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
