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Manchester United and Manchester City played out a bore derby stalemate at Old Trafford on Saturday night, December 12.
The game, devoid of excitement, was a missed chance for both teams looking for vital points to climb the Premier League table and catch league leaders Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea.
In the first half, Gabriel Jesus was off target while Riyad Mahrez brought a routine save from David de Gea while Scott McTominay almost scored from Victor Lindelof’s flick as United sought the breakthrough.
In the second half, Kyle Walker fouled Marcus Rashford but the decision with the home team hopeful of a penalty, but the decision was overturned as VAR revealed the United striker was offside.
Despite the tactical awareness of both teams, the math ended in a draw leaving United seventh in the Premier League and City a place below them.
The match comes after Manchester United’s Champions League exit following the loss against RB Leipzig during midweek.
Manchester City on the other hand kept their sixth successive clean sheet since losing at Tottenham in November.
United boss Ole Solskjaer reacting to the draw said; “In my time against Manchester City that’s the best performance we have had – not the best result but the best performance. I know we beat them a few times last season but those were different games.
“It was a tight game. It’s two good teams. Tactically we knew they were going to give us some problems but defensively we were excellent. I’m delighted with the defensive shape.
“With the ball we didn’t create as much as we wanted to. They probably had the bigger moments in open play. But everyone should be happy with a draw.”
City boss Guardiola said: “They started well after we finished the first half well. We created three or four clear chances, you cannot expect many against a team like United and it was a good point in the end. It will be a good point in the future.
“United is always a strong team, this is Old Trafford. They score when they can run but we controlled them really well.
“It is not a derby, it would be different with the people and maybe they pushed more. It is different every week without the people, the virus is still there, you have to be careful.”
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