Manchester United vs Manchester City, summary: Rashford goal, goals, stats & highlights | Premier League 2022-23
Manchester United vs Manchester City: as it happened
The football never stops.
Remember we've got the Spanish Super Cup final tomorrow!
Kick-off is at 2pm ET and 11am PT.
Make sure to follow the action live on AS USA!
Here's Guardiola's crazy rant after the defeat to Manchester United.
"I don't care about the Premier League", the Manchester City boss said.
OK! That's all for today.
Thanks for following the coverage and make sure to check out all the news and latest sport updates at AS USA!
Joe
Even Petr Cech's getting involved!
Something tells me the reaction to this game is going to carry on for a long time...
A fiery Guardiola post-match...
"I don't care about the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. We can't win those. We have won a lot, so it's not a problem."
Bruno lauds the team effort after the game:
His goal will cause a lot of controversy in the coming hours (and probably days), but nobody can deny the influence that the playmaker had on the second half today.
Old Trafford has become quite the fortress.
Manchester United have got 3 games away from home in the space of 11 days and then they're back at Old Trafford on January 28, against Reading in the FA Cup 4th round.
Here's how Sofascore saw the game:
The top performer is Casemiro, who went about today with the kind of invisible brilliance he is known for.
This is why City are so furious
Rashford, according to the law, was interfering with play in the first goal. Let's see if we get any official confirmation later on why the goal was allowed to stand.
Well, well, well. What an ending to a fantastic game of football.
The Manchester City players are not happy at all and immediately surroud the referee to ask for explanations to his decisions, probably on the first Manchester United goal, where Rashford was clearly interfering with play.
The first half was quite an even affair, with City huffing and puffing and Manchester United looking to pounce on the counter.
The second half was going entirely in favour of Manchester City, who had the old flow back and were looking very dangerous from all areas. Grealish finally broke the deadlock after a great cross from De Bruyne, and it felt like the result was in their hands.
But if you don't kill Manchester United twice, they don't die. Quick thinking from Rashford allowed Bruno to slip in a fire the first goal past Ederson, and the winner came shortly after, with the quick feet of Garnacho making just enough room for him to put the ball across to the most in form player in the Solar System to tap home.
That results leaves Erik ten Hag's side just ONE point behind Manchester City, who are in full crisis mode now.
AND THAT'S IT!!!
MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 MANCHESTER CITY
The ball ends in De Gea's hands... that could be it...
Into the last minute...
HAALAND ALMOST GETS ON THE END OF A CROSS - so close!
Manchester City have their opponent pinned right back. They continue to push for the equaliser.
Maguire, McTominay and Martínez ON
Rashford, Casemiro and Malacia OFF
Rodri loses the ball and Antony counters....
Garnacho's shot is blocked.
5 added minutes.
Manchester United clear the three crosses City put in. Huge noise from the crowd.
When we finally get back underway, it's a free-kick for City on the right.
Casemiro down and asking for treatment. A cheeky grin from the Brazilian. Tick that off your bingo sheets.
Fred booked for a foul on Grealish. Tick that off your bingo sheet.
VAR is looking at the challenge that saw Haaland go down.
Not given.
HAALAND GOES DOWN IN THE BOX.
NO PENALTY!
Someone in the world of the football Gods has taken this game and flipped it upside down!
It was all Manchester City, all Kevin De Bruyne and all Pep Guardiola. Until Manchester United decided to play football.
Bang. Bang. Rashford's quick thinking has sliced City to pieces.
OLD TRAFFORD HAS ERUPTED!
MARCUS RASHFORD PUTS MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 UP WITH 8 MINUTES TO GO
A quick counter attack arrives at Garnacho's feet and his cross is met by Rashford who slipped the ball under Ederson! City have collapsed!
GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
RASHFOOOOOOOORDDDDDDD
Back underway...
It's fiery at Old Trafford now.
Wan Bissaka broke through the line of City pressure and the ball was played through the defence by Casemiro towards Rashford, who was clearly offside.
Rashford didn't touch the ball and Bruno slipped in to fire past Ederson!
Controversial, but legal. Manchester City are not happy, as they see Rashford as influencing with play.
GOAL GIVEN!!!!!
1-1!!
GOOOOOOALLL FROM BRUNO!!!
There's controversy however as Rashford was in an offside position.
Let's see what the referee says...
Excellent pressure from the home team ends with Ake cracking the ball at Rashford. The crowd is well up for the final 10 minutes and are screaming at everything.
Garnacho breaks away but Akanji gets in front brilliantly to stop the attack. He calculated that perfectly.
The sun has come out! This is, of course, very normal in Manchester, unlike the rain from earlier.
Into the last 15 minutes now, and Manchester United have just started to take a step forward; Old Trafford senses the shift in momentum as well and the crowd begin to sing again.
Eriksen had not managed to work his way into this half, being absolutely overshadowed by the fabulous De Bruyne. Garnacho looks to be on the left, with Rashford up front.
Eriksen OFF
Garnacho ON
De Gea's pass is woeful, landing straight at the feet of Rodri, who is fouled by Fred in an act of desperation.
De Bruyne is picking up a lot more second balls this half, and starting off City attacks from deep.
Garnacho is getting ready to come on.
Eriksen can't quite keep the ball in after a searching ball in behind the City defence and ends up running off the pitch.
A fan holds his hand out for a high 5, but the player ignores him spectacularly. Lovely stuff.
Manchester United press their opponents all the way back to Ederson, who hoofs the ball 40 yards into the air. The crowd wake up again.
A shot from Wan Bissaka (who turned into Zinedine Zidane for a second) is blocked by Ake and sent out for a corner.
Akanji stretches 3 sizes to slide the ball away from Antony, who had found space in behind.
Eriksen booked for a push on Grealish. He looks frustrated.
De Bruyne breaks away but the Manchester United defence get back well to cover.
Well, there you go!
The change in speed from City has worked to perfection. De Bruyne receives in the channel from Mahrez out on the right wing.
He takes a touch away from the defender and chips the ball to the back post where Grealish is waiting to nod the ball past De Gea. Fully deserved after their bright start to the second half.
Time for ten Hag's team to react!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
JACK GREALISH SCORES WITH A HEADER
0-1!!!!!
Manchester City are finding it easier to get on the ball in the middle third of the pitch and move to create in the spaces on the edge of the box. I suspect Gundogan is not fair from coming on if things stay the same.
Manchester United clear the danger again after a barrage of crosses are launched into the box. They're hanging on now.
Foden OFF
Grealish ON
A penalty shout is waved away after Cancelo slips and slides past 3 Manchester United defenders before going down in the box.
City continue to grow...
Malacia stops a De Bruyne pass from finding Mahrez in behind. What a lovely interception from the full-back. City are growing.
CLOSE FROM CITY!
De Bruyne breaks down the right and floats in a beautiful cross towards Bernardo, whose header gets cleared away. Haaland's touch then finds Foden but Casemiro is on the case to clear the danger away.
After a little moment of 'are they checking the VAR?', the referee blows for offside.
VARANE GOES CLOSE!
Penalty shout for Manchester United! Casemiro brought down!
Foul by Ake on Antony after the Brazilian broke away down the right. It was a tough tackle and the winger is currently on the floor.
Free kick to be swung in by either Shaw or Eriksen.
The Manchester United fans sing about how much they dislike Leeds United. Maybe they're trying to play mind games with Haaland, who is said to be a Leeds fan.
Antony weaves his way out towards his natural home on the right and tries to take on the whole world. City win the ball back.
Fantastic from City who finally find space in the middle third thanks to sly movement from Walker.
Bernardo wastes the chance with a poor shot that goes wide.
De Gea loses the ball with a poor kick but it surprises Mahrez and the forward can't do anything other than head it straight back to the goalkeeper.
Hmm... It's Antony up front and Rashford stays on the left.
Here we go!
Let's see how the team shape up now.
Antony ON
Martial OFF
The players are back out and my eyes have almost fallen out of my head... I can see Rashford!
Might we see this man in the second half?
He was brought in to break open games like this, so could Grealish be an option for Pep today at Old Trafford?
Bad news, Manchester United fans.
Antony is warming up during the half-time break. This could mean Rashford is not fit to continue.
He's definitely been the danger man
But there is the question: will he make it out for the second half?
Look away, City fans...
ZERO shots on target for City in 140 minutes of football!
And the last one was a penalty!
...
And the last time they had a shot on target in open play?
187 minutes of football ago!
HT: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City
Well, that got spicy. City have done what they do, probe from all angles, just looking a little less lethal than usual. Erik ten Hag's side have attacked well on the counter, and have forced Ederson into some heroic saves, but it's not controversial to say that a huge part of their potential victory relies on Rashford being fit to continue. The forward took a knock just before the break and had to come off for treatment, so we will see if he is OK for the second half.
De Bruyne has been at the heart of City's creativity, as he normally is, and we might expect to see a change from Guardiola out wide as the two wingers, Foden and Mahrez, have been handled well by Manchester United's full-backs.
WALKER GOES CLOSE!
A fiery shot from distance spun just wide of De Gea's goal!
One added minute.
Varane clears a dangerous De Bruyne cross!
The forward had made a fantastic run into the space behind the defence but luckily the Frenchman was on hand to clear the danger.
Just a note about Rashford, he definitely does not look 100%.
City are probing like nosey space aliens as the home team continue to drop further back towards their own goal.
Rashford is back on the pitch. He looks to be OK.
The game is back on; Rashford is hobbling on the sideline. Let's see if he can continue.
Rashford has been absolutely everything for his team so far, to lose him today would cut off the venom supply from the Manchester monster...
Rashford is down... this is not a drill.
Cancelo holds onto the ball before playing back to Ake. He looks visibly frustrated at the lack of options.
This game is, very rapidly, losing all structure and control.
Lovely!
EDERSON WITH A HUGE SAVE
Another attack from Rashford! He was played in behind Walker and burned away from the defender, but this time Ederson got out well to collect the ball as the striker ran into the box. Huge chance.
Foden heads close!
The pass from De Bruyne was delightful: a spinning cross from the centre that met the head of the attacker but he couldn't quite get enough on the ball.
WHAT A HUGE CHANCE FOR MANCHESTER UNITED
The ball was launched high into the air and found Rashford, who broke away behind the City defence.
Ederson decided to come charging out of his goal, missed the ball and let Rashford through!
But his shot was blocked off the line by Akanji.
Malacia is back up and jogging, which is good to see.
Back underway.
Malacia is down after that challenge from Walker. Looked quite innocuous to me on first viewing, but it seems he's hit his head.
The home team finally have a sustained period of possession, keeping the ball between the defenders and midfielders.
Bruno gets a pass wrong and doesn't put enough power on it to open the play, allowing Walker to nip in and steal the ball back.
Possession after 28 minutes:
Man. Utd 33-67 Man. City
CHANCE FOR CITY!
Blocked by Fred! Mahrez's cross was poor and failed to get off the ground. Great work from De Bruyne again, who did well to turn and run at the Manchester United defence before opening the play to the winger.
Beautiful work from the home side to work the ball all the way from De Gea to Bruno, whose scorpion kick on the edge of the City box goes out of play.
That's lifted the crowd again, as they had just started to drop due to City's growing dominance.
CHANCE FOR HAALAND!
Casemiro gets in front of a Haaland shot. That was the first chance for the Norwegian so far today.
Rashford gets a vital touch on the ball to halt Cancelo as he breaks away down the left, stopping the attack.
City are, very slowly, making their mark higher up the pitch.
A corner is awarded to City after they finally find their passing boots and put together a nice triangle of passes down the right side. De Bruyne has been at the centre of everything the away side have done well so far: they're heavily relying on him, as you would.
Cleared away.
Rodri finds the ball 25 yards out, but decides to open the play towards Mahrez instead of looking towards goal and the ball bobbles out for a throw. Chance wasted.
Fred tracks back fantastically well to stop a surging Kevin De Bruyne, who had launched a dangerous-looking counter after Casemiro lost the ball high up the pitch.
A frustrated kick from Ederson lands in the stands and is met with huge cheers from the home crowd, who enjoyed it greatly.
HUGE CHANCE FOR MANCHESTER UNITED
De Bruyne found space on the left before his cross went nowhere. The clearance from the home side was long and direct to martial, who ran down the left and almost set up Rashford for the tap-in. Cancelo cleared at the last minute.
It's not been a magical City opening to the game, and Haaland has not yet had a touch. But we know he doesn't need many to do damage...
Manchester United continue to sit comfortably in their defensive shape and watch City pass the ball between the centre-backs and Ederson.
BRUNO GOES CLOSE!
A huge mistake from Bernardo, who gives the ball away stupidly in the middle of the pitch. Eriksen rolls the ball right to Bruno, whose shot is dragged low and wide of the goal.
Rashford does excellently well to create space down the left and then get into the box for Malacia's cross, which is blocked. That was a warning for Guardiola's side.
It's not an asphyxiating press from the home team, who don't want to leave any space in the middle for De Bruyne to do exactly what he just did and spin away, but the side are definitely looking to make life uncomfortable for City during their long moments of build up.
The crowd erupts every time the home side recover the ball and launch a counter, all of which have, until now, ended very quickly.
De Bruyne spins away in the middle of the pitch and the ball ends up with Cancelo, who twists and turns on the left side.
The cross comes in from City but Rashford is the first to the ball to clear away any danger.
Martial and Eriksen are sharing the job of covering Rodri in off-ball moments for Manchester United, which has forced the away side to go long a few times.
The crowd is in a great mood today, that's a few times now they've really enjoyed Manchester City losing possession in the middle of the pitch.
It's a raucous atmosphere at Old Trafford.
Eriksen is the next player to stop play in a frantic start, fouling Cancelo as the full-back (who's started on the left) makes a darting run up the pitch.
An instant long ball from the home side ends in Martial launching himself over Akanji and fouling the centre-back.
And we're off!
Manchester United get the ball rolling from left to right.
Here we go!
The players walk out of the tunnel to a huge noise at Old Trafford!
The lineups:
Man Utd XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred, Eriksen; Fernandes, Martial, Rashford.
Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden
Ready to go!
Remember, if Manchester United win, they will go within one point of City.
Will that put them in the title race? It's hard to argue otherwise...
10 minutes to go!
The players are away down the tunnel... it's nearly time for kick-off!
Man Utd's Rodri plan
When asked by BT Sport whether or not the Manchester United manager has a plan to stop Rodri, ten Hag said "definitely, he is the key player in building up and organising the team."
What plan do you reckon we will see today from Manchester United to stop the Spaniard?
The final warm ups have begun!
Less than half an hour to go until kick-off!
Can Manchester United extend their amazing home record this season, or will City finally be able to turn a corner in their recent defensive struggles?
Ten hag to BT Sport
"[Weghorst] is the type of striker we don’t have in this moment. I have known him a long time and followed him through the leagues and the clubs and everywhere he came, he surprised. He is a goalscorer, definitely."
Pep Guardiola to BT Sport
"It’s a good scenario to make this milestone [500 top-flight league games as a manager].
I would prefer it to be at the Etihad, but it’s OK! Old Trafford is OK! We won a lot of games. We had fun, and we’d like to do it again.
United’s patterns are better. A good run of results. They are active, not just reactive. They have good build-ups. They are a complete team.
I have a feeling United is back. I always feel favourite, but you have to prove it, and I have a massive respect to United."
More reason for Man Utd confidence...
Those results are pretty striking, with Manchester United picking up 6 wins in their last 7 games at home, only dropping points to Newcastle since the loss to Brighton, all the way back in August!
Some more Sofascore? OK then!
I can hear you asking for it. Here's the Sofascore graphic of how the two teams have been getting on throughout the season.
On paper, Manchester City look to be well ahead of their rivals, with better numbers in pretty much everything except clean sheets. But there's that intangible feeling, that tickle in your stomach that says 'something's not right'.
And it's the immeasurable factor that is so key to this fixture today, it's what makes it so exciting. Manchester City could come storming out and fire me, you and all of ten Hag's players into next week with electrifying football, as we've seen so many times in years gone by. But something this season is stopping us all from thinking that, and nobody knows why.
Here are the Sofascore tactical lineups:
Those yellow ratings for the City back five don't make for very good comfort reading, do they? Rashford must have been licking his lips this morning while he was eating his cereal.
Here's how Erik ten Hag's side start:
De Gea
Wan-Bissaka - Varane - Shaw - Malacia
Casemiro - Fred
Bruno - Eriksen - Rashford
Martial
Manchester City lineup:
Ederson
Walker - Akanji - Ake - Cancelo
Rodri - De Bruyne - Bernardo
Mahrez - Haaland - Foden
On the other hand, Rashford is propelling his side to heights they could have only dreamed of under ten Hag, who has won 20 out his first 27 games with The Red Devils - the best start a Manchester United manager has ever had!
So, what's wrong with City, then? Does anybody know? Who would have thought that signing a real-life goal monster would actually make you worse at winning football matches?
Yes, I do currently have a smile on my face like that cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Here's how things look in the league...
As we can see, things are incredibly tight at the top of the Premier League tree, with just 4 points separating Manchester United from their city rivals. Things could get very juicy in the title race with a home win today, so we will have to see how things pan out.
T | MP | W | D | L | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
2 | 39 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
3 | 35 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
4 | 35 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 4 |
5 | 33 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 |
It's a rainy day in Manchester
The team bus has arrived and the players are already looking focussed. It's a huge day at the top of the table, even if the weather doesn't quite live up to the occasion.
For those of you who are unaware, rain is incredibly uncommon in England, especially Manchester*. Let's see if it affects the players today.
*This is a joke. It never stops raining.
Manchester United: team news and form recap
The home side go into the game rejuvenated and with a new look of confidence about them, almost as if a huge weight has been lifted from their dressing room - I mean shoulders.
Marcus Rashford has turned into Cristiano Ronaldo in the good sense of the word and can't stop scoring: he's scored in every game since the restart after the World Cup!
Casemiro has been a huge addition to the side, and a surprising one to many pundits in the UK, who obviously don't remember a time, just last season in fact, when he won his 5th Champions League. But hey ho.
In terms of team news, Diogo Dalot is the only player certain to miss out, while Martial will undergo a late fitness test.
Manchester City: team news and form recap
Where to start with City? They signed the best striker in the world and somehow got worse - or at least that's the discourse running around football circles at the moment. But it's more complicated than that.
Much more complicated. To the extent that pretty much everybody is at a loss as to how they are not firing on all cylinders as the squad talent levels would suggest. They hammered Manchester United 6-3 at the Etihad earlier in the season so they will be looking to find some of that energy today, but logic says that it will be a very different game.
Guardiola suffered his first ever quarter final loss, against Southampton, on Wednesday, showing that the problems run deep at the club.
Southampton are in horrendous form (and bottom of the league) and shouldn't have been able to lay a glove on City, but the Manchester side had, wait for it, ZERO shots on target!
The good news is that City don't have many injuries to worry about: John Stones is the only absentee.
Although I'd love you to stay and I know you will, here's all the info on how you can watch the game today, if you're in the US .
Say hello or goedemorgen to Manchester United's new (and absolutely huge) shiny toy: Wout Weghorst!
Yes, the man mountain was finally unveiled as a Manchester United player, and the scorer of the funniest goal in the World Cup 2022 will wear red for the remainder of the season. However, we won't be seeing Wout with his boots on today, as he isn't eligible to be selected. Check out why by clicking the photo above.
Hello!
Welcome along to the live coverage of the Premier League today, and what a feast we've got!
Manchester United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford today!
It's Joe here and I'll be guiding you through the ups and downs of the game today and all the drama that we're sure to see in this mega clash of two football teams in very different situations.