Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Score, Reaction for 2016 Manchester Derby

Manchester City issued a huge statement of intent in the first Manchester Derby of the season, as Pep Guardiola’s men produced an imperious display to beat their rivals 2-1 at Old Trafford. 

Kevin de Bruyne got the ball rolling 14 minutes in with a well-taken strike, before Kelechi Iheanacho instinctively doubled City’s lead 10 minutes before the break.

Manchester United reduced the arrears ahead of the interval through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Jose Mourinho’s men couldn’t find an equaliser, as City stay at the top of the Premier League.

In a pulsating first half, Manchester City started in style by taking the game to Manchester United. A buoyant Old Trafford crowd soon became jittery and nervous, as their former “noisy neighbours” moved in for the kill.

And City got the goal their impressive football deserved just inside 15 minutes, although it wasn’t quite in the style you’d expect. Rather than playing intricate, tiki-taka football, City relied on a route-one move to get on the scoresheet.

Aleksandar Kolarov launched the ball long towards the City front men, Iheanacho won the header and De Bruyne stole in ahead of Daley Blind before finishing smartly past David de Gea.

The goal was nothing more than City deserved, although ESPN’s Miguel Delaney was quick to slam Blind for the part he played in the goal:

The Blind leading the blind. That started from no pressing on full-back. Great finish.

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) September 10, 2016

Many would have expected a United backlash after going a goal down, but City wanted more and continued to pile the pressure on De Gea’s goal.

Raheem Sterling was causing all kinds of problems on the flanks, while Antonio Valencia was found wanting on more than one occasion down the City left.

You got the sense that the game was there for the taking for City as they launched attack after attack with United left trying to catch their breath, and it wasn’t long before they doubled their lead.

Further sloppy United defending saw the ball fall to the ever-impressive De Bruyne, and when his shot came back off the inside of the post, Iheanacho was on hand six yards out to tap home.

At 2-0, it looked as if it was going to be a cricket score at the wrong Old Trafford, and the Mail on Sunday’s Oliver Holt was one of many praising City’s brilliance:

This is brutal. City utterly dominant.

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