(Still) not over Manchester City's performance in the Manchester Derby
I wouldn't call myself the die-hardest of football fans. I think there's many more fans of football out there willing to dedicate a lot more time, money, heart and thought into their club than I am, but I do love something to look forward to and be excited about, that being my football club Manchester City
I can safely say I've never felt quite so absorbed by football in my life. The Manchester Derby was 3 days ago as of the time I'm writing this and I am not over the performance we put in.
Before the World Cup, I had convinced myself that this season would be a transitional one. New manager, new players and a lot of people in the club who had to prove themselves (Pep Lijnders and Kolo Toure I will never forget you.) Tempering my expectations at least allowed me to feel a bit detached when the poor results I had expected would arrive, arrived. I hadn't come into the 26/27 Premier League season expecting success and I think a couple of Manchester City fans felt the same way. Still, this didn't mean I wasn't excited for the season. I wanted to see Enzo Maresca prove himself, I wanted to see Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland balling out as they usually did, I wanted to see our new signings prove themself.
As such, bar the Community Shield loss to Arsenal (which was a friendly anyways), this season has been a surprise for me. It's been a while since I've felt quite so excited and hopeful for a Premier League season and I think a lot of that feeling now stems from the 199th Manchester Derby
Phil Foden red card, 23 minutes. That red card, in my opinion, spelled the end of any hope we'd be coming out of that game with anything. We hadn't played well in terms of chance creation and possession in the first 23 minutes already and, with an unfair red card at Old Trafford, I was almost resigned to our fate. Ten men at Old Trafford for 70 minutes was an uphill slope to climb, even against a Manchester United side which hadn't felt dangerous in years.
That resignation subsided by half-time. A fire LIT inside those players the moment Phil Foden got sent off and, from the 23rd minute onwards, I saw my club put in one of the most spirited, determined, gritty and passionate performances I've ever seen in my life.
When you talk about phenomenal performances on the pitch by Manchester City since the 2020s, I'd quote you our 4-0 win against Real Madrid in the UCL semi-finals during our treble season. That win represented total dominance over one of the greatest teams in football history and was, in terms of football on the pitch, our magnum opus in a season where we essentially won it all. However, if you're speaking about a spirited performance which leaves you proud of the players on the pitch regardless of the result, I think this win tops it all. The result itself should tell you everything you need to know - 10 men for 75 minutes, at Old Trafford, with an entirely new team stripped of Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva and Rodri, against a Manchester United team which came into this game knowing that they thrived on Manchester City's one weakness, counter-attacking football
But the performance of the players on the pitch speaks so, so much more about that win than just the result itself. After all, the result, technically, was a robbery (I call it karma for the Rashford offside in 22/23 and for the unfair red against Foden [Bruno kicks him first !!])
Across 75 minutes, I saw each and every player on the pitch play their role to a tee. This will take me a while because I feel like every single player and part of the pitch deserves praise that I havent already been throwing about on r/MCFC
- Donnarumma making some good saves and being a rock at the back, both in terms of dominating his box and in terms of that clutch save at the end against Mbuemo who'll have nightmares about Donnarumma after a similar worldie of a save in our 3-0 win against United when Donnarumma made his debut.
- Matheus "Cafunes" who, although was absolutely phenomenal, put in a performance that almost felt routine, a fact which only speaks to the sheer quality of the player that Matheus Nunes is on the regular. So glad to have him back because the tackles, dribbles and passes on that pitch were "muah"
- Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi especially who were both brick walls, putting in countless tackles and playing so well under pressure, showing brilliant character and leadership
- Josko Gvardiol who felt, again, like a brick wall in our back line. Was questioning the decision to put him in over Nico O'Reilly in the starting lineup but he firmly proved me wrong. Bombed up and down that left hand side too, including the overlap to assist Haaland
- Eliott Anderson who justified his price tag on the pitch with a singular game. He was EVERYWHERE on that pitch and it felt like every single pass and tackle had his name on it. Such a brilliant presence in that midfield in a performance that reminded me of a prime Rodri
- Enzo Fernandez. I was skeptical of this man's signing before it was official but said that if he put his head down and put in a couple of good performances, he'd be on my good side. After THAT match, he's worth every penny we paid Chelsea. So much about him felt like Bernardo Silva in that game. Drawing fouls, making tackles, progressive passes, dribbles up the pitch, a bit of shithousery we would've been missing had we not signed him and a BOAT LOAD of passion. Love him to death
- Semenyo and Ndiaye were so pivotal in offloading pressure in a game where we'd be facing a lot of it. Always trying to go forward and be a threat. Always dribbling and being dangerous. Always looking for the ball and, in the case of Ndiaye, contributing a whole lot defensively too. Ndiaye had a wonder performance against United and has definitely made his case to be starting in the absence of Phil Foden and even after Phil returns from his red.
- Erling Haaland put in a brilliant shift last night. He was his classic low-touch high-impact self in the first half, but the moment we went down to ten men, his game changed drastically and for the better. Dropped deep, made defensive contributions, was always in space in our own half and making an effort to drive forward with the ball when he received it, costing United precious seconds and also relieving a lot of pressure on our backline. A mega performance from a very mature striker who knew what City needed on the occasion and provided
And for the whole team, what a performance in terms of grit and wanting to win that match. Every player on that pitch gave a 150%, none of them downing tools or slacking off or looking like they didnt want it or not running or not tracking back. Every last one of them was up for it no matter how tired they must've been, always making the tackle, always tracking back, always trying to be progressive with the ball and take responsibility, always trying to help their fellow teammates. Even if we had drawn or lost that game, I would still be equally proud of every last one of those players because I saw them break a GUT covering ground to play their part in that win. Bra-fucking-vo.
And Enzo Maresca, my beautiful bald-headed manager, your decision making was perfect. Subbing on Ndiaye likely won us the game, giving us not only an outlet and henceforth a threat when we had possession but also giving us a workhorse to win duels and fouls. Subbing him on, trusting Anderson and EnzoF and giving Semenyo and Ndiaye the keys to be the width was brilliant in-game management when it was likely tempting to sub on Bouaddi or Nico O'Reilly and take a draw.
What a performance from the lads. Will not go unnoticed at all. This performance will go down as one of the most spirited in our recent history and is indicative of a team that has that fight and hunger even under a new manager. It makes me so proud and also so excited to see the future of this team because that performance told me more than what a 7-0 whooping would've. We know the quality of these players but knowing just how much they want it and just how much they're willing to give is so invaluable.
As for the questionable refereeing, we've seen this so many times in the Prem already.
- Foden's red shouldn't be a red. I understand that he kicks out and I find it extremely immature from a professional who should know better than anyone in the team what this derby means, but Bruno Fernandes kicks him first. All this talk about it being petulant is trash, it's either a caution for both, yellow for both or red for both. Bruno plays an equal part in Foden kicking out.
- ... that goal is totally illegal. Do I care? Nope. For one, Rashford interfered in a more impactful way for Bruno Fernandes' goal in our derby loss in 22/23. For two, United couldn't score against 10 men at Old Trafford for 75+ minutes, we can't rob anything if United didn't give us a result to rob, we utterly deserved that result because United were utter shite and if they couldn't score against 10 men for 75+ minutes, I wouldn't worry about "robbery." For three, I'd argue it's balanced out by Foden's unfair red. For four, I would've been happy and just as proud with a draw or loss anyways.
In any case...
One of the best Manchester Derby wins for the sky blue in history, up there with the 6-1. CTID.