Manchester Derby Highlights: Fernandes, Shaw power United to 2-0 win over City

EPL 2021, MUN vs MCI: Get the EPL LIVE football score updates between Manchester United and Manchester City from the Etihad Stadium.

Hello and welcome to Sportstar's Premier League highlights from the match between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Manchester United goal-scorer Bruno Fernandes - "It’s always difficult to play against them but today we did almost everything perfect. We are very happy. But now it’s about performing till the end of the season……. we remained focused till the end of the game. We know everyone can do something for us.”

MATCH REPORT|

Even though this win by Manchester United won't change much in the grand scheme of things, it was a display where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can pat his boys on the back for a resolute display of football.

This win also means that Solskjaer could become the first manager in Man Utd's history to win each of his first three away meetings in all competitions with City.

United took an early courtesy a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the second minute. Luke Shaw scored his second Premier League goal and doubled United's lead at the 49th minute.

With this win, United climb up to second in the table, 11 points behind City. Their unbeaten away game streak stands at 22 games now. City's streak of 21 consecutive wins has been ended by their neighbours.

90+6' FULL-TIME! Manchester City 0- 2 Manchester United

90+5' Late penalty scare for United but VAR checks it and United can breathe easy.

90+2' Change for United- Brandon Williams for Fernandes.

90' Five additional minutes given. United are close to stretching their unbeaten away game streak to 22 games.

87' Change for United- Matic comes on for Martial, who still searches for a goal and end his drought.

87' Foul- Bissaka brings Foden down.

85' De Bruyne with another great cross, which finds Sterling, who is not really known for his aerial prowess.

STAT: Nine minutes remain. If the scoreline stays the same Man Utd can win three consecutive away matches at Man City in all competitions for the first time since 2000.

79' Walker with a peach of a delivery from the right flank. Sterling inches away from making contact, which surely would have given him his first goal against United.

78' Shaw back on the field- whether temporary or permanent remains to be seen.

76' Another potential injury scare for United. Shaw goes off the field and Telles preparing to come on. Fred playing left-back for the meantime.

74' Foden with a close effort on goal.

73' Change for United- Greenwood comes in for Rashford.

72' Solskjaer and Guardiola seems to be in a heated debate regarding Manchester City resuming play after Henderson put the ball out to allow Greenwood to come on the field, who was not ready.

71' Rashford seems to have pulled a muscle as he hobbles off the field. This is certainly a setback for the Red Devils.

70' Change for City- Foden comes in for Jesus.

69' What a save by Ederson. Martial with a beautiful opportunity to seal the game but shoots straight at Ederson.

66' Change for City- Walker comes in for Cancelo for a straight swap at right-back.

65' Jesus tries to find Sterling with a driven ball across Henderson's goal, but it was too heavy for the Englishman, who was offside in all probability.

60' Corner- De Bruyne takes it and Mahrez goes for the spectacular. The ball balloons over Henderson' goal.

58' Bruno with a lovely cross to Martial who mistimes his header and allows Ederson to gather it easily. The spin on the ball was always going to make it difficult for the Frenchman.

55' Martial with a lovely turn and he breezes in City's box and passes it to James, whose shot is blocked and goes out for a corner.

52' Sterling cuts inside to his strong foot and tries to curl one in but Henderson gathers it easily.

49' GOAAAAAAL! Rashford with a pass to Luke Shaw in City's box who rolls it in Ederson's far corner. How often do we see him score?

48' City inches away from an equalizer. Jesus feeds a great ball to Rodri who blasts it against the frame of the goal.

STAT: Manchester City have not lost consecutive home league matches against Man Utd since April 2010.

46' KICK OFF! And the second half gets underway

In was an unexpected start, to say the least. City found themselves trailing from the second minute itself after Gabriel Jesus fouled Anthony Martial in the penalty box and Bruno Fernandes punished that by successfully converting his spot kick.

City found its flair and passing rhythm gradually as the half progressed but was unusually wasteful in the final third as Guardiola's men looked to play between the lines of United's compact defence.

Stay tuned for an exciting second half.

HALF TIME: Manchester City 0- 1 Manchester United

46' Thaaat was close- Mahrez shoots one across Henderson' goal which rolls past the diving Englishman.

43' The ball fizzles over the net with a slight touch from Henderson for a corner. Nothing comes of it.

42' Foul-  Fernandes fouls Rodri in a delicious position, which is surely in the range of City skipper, Kevin De Bruyne.

40' Martial with a beautiful diagonal to Rash who penetrates through the City defence and attempts to slide a deft pass to Martial but puts too much weight on it.

34' Foul- Ruben Dias' trailing leg trips Martial.

32' Foul - Maguire goes for the ball but takes down Jesus with a heavy follow-through.

30' City's high press is not letting United enjoy possession in their opponent's half of the pitch.

STAT: City enjoying the lion's share of possession as expected at 69%

24' Zinchenko with a thunderous shot straight at Henderson. Comfortable height for Henderson as he parries it away easily.

23' Sterling tumbles inside United's crowded box. City players cry foul but referee Anthony Taylor waves play on.

20' Martial showing exquisite work rate and holdup play- something, which has been missing from his general gameplay this season.

19' Jesus cuts in inside and tries to curl one in the far corner. Lindelof blocks his shot and Maguire clears.

16' City gives the ball away cheaply as Fred and capitalizes and passes it to Rashford who shoots at goal. Ederson deals with it fairly comfortably. 

13' Manchester United look a completely different side from that lethargic display at Selhurst Park on Wednesday.

9' Gundogan rockets a shot in the bottom-left corner. Henderson deals with it easily.

7' Foul- Cancelo trips Rashford. Shaw takes the dead ball. Nothing comes of it.

STAT: First time Man City is trailing in 19 games. Last time they trailed was when they lost to Spurs 106 days ago

2' GOAAAAAAL! Bruno Fernandes slots it home calmly despite Ederson getting a touch. What a crucial early goal this is for United.

1' Penalty- Jesus trips over Martial within 33 seconds.

1' KICK-OFF!

LINE-UPS

Manchester City XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, İlkay Gundogan, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Sterling, Jesus

Manchester United XI: Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, James, Fernandes, Rashford, Martial

MATCH PREVIEW

It wasn’t long ago that Sunday's Manchester derby was being billed as a decisive match in terms of the destination of the Premier League title.

Now it's shaping up to be a virtual coronation.

The divergence in fortunes of City and United over the past five weeks — they were separated by just a point at the top of the standings on Jan. 27 — has been dramatic.

City hasn't lost a match in any competition in that period and is riding a record 21-game winning run that has pushed Pep Guardiola's team into a 14-point lead.

Second-place United, meanwhile, has won just two of its eight league matches in that time and its attacking game has sputtered to a halt, the last three matches played by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side finishing 0-0.

"They always get good results here at the Etihad Stadium but we know the opportunity we have to extend our advantage," Guardiola said Friday.

Squad strength, and the respective managers’ utilisation of it, has played a key role.

United's players, to put it bluntly, look shot after playing games every three or four days since the start of the season owing to their involvement in the Europa League and going deep in both domestic cup competitions.

Marcus Rashford, for example, has played a part in each of the team’s last 30 games dating back to Nov. 21. Bruno Fernandes, the star playmaker, has missed just one of those matches — a win in the FA Cup over second-tier Watford on Jan. 9 when he was an unused substitute.

Quite why Solskjaer deemed it necessary to give both players 45 minutes in the second leg of the last-32 match against Real Sociedad in the Europa League last week, with United already leading 4-0 from the first game, is a relevant question.

Rashford and Fernandes were visibly off their game in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Naturally, both played the full 90 minutes, highlighting Solskjaer’s dependence on certain individuals.

This is where City and Guardiola differ, and it might be why the team has managed to come through the grueling schedule so well.

There's no denying City has the best and deepest squad in the league — it didn’t go unnoticed that Guardiola had USD 500 million worth of talent on his bench for the 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday — but he can fall back on a settled style developed over years as well as a structure that does not rely on one individual and can operate at a high level whichever players slot in at a given time.

It's why City barely missed Kevin De Bruyne when the Belgium midfielder was recently out for a month with a hamstring injury. Guardiola found other solutions.

It's why City has managed to stay on course for a quadruple this season despite its best striker, Sergio Aguero, starting just four games in all competitions because of injuries.

Again, Guardiola has eventually solved the problem, often playing without a striker but still seeing the goals fly in.

United will be without goalkeeper David De Gea, who is taking time off for the birth of his daughter, Solskjaer confirmed on Friday.

Meanwhile, Guardiola said defender Nathan Ake is healthy and available for selection.

City has the better squad and a vastly more experienced and tactically astute manager. What has happened over the past five weeks should, therefore, come as no surprise.

That doesn’t mean the result on Sunday is a foregone conclusion, especially since United is unbeaten in 21 away games stretching back to January last year.

A 0-0 draw would not be unexpected — that was the result in the derby at Old Trafford in December and was also the score when United played Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in the league since the turn of the year.

"I know how difficult United are," Guardiola said. "I have the feeling they are a better team every season. They haven't lost away for more than one year. They are now real contenders, second in the table." Guardiola has spoken openly about how United has hurt City in recent seasons with its pace on the counterattack, so don’t expect the leaders to open up at the Etihad Stadium. A 0-0 draw would end City’s extraordinary winning run but wouldn’t be the worst result for the team.

Solskjaer would likely take it, too, though it would mean more dropped points and a chance for United’s growing band of top-four rivals to close the gap in what is fast becoming a crowded race for Champions League qualification.