Ruthless City outclass toothless United
After the nightmare of that 5-0 Liverpool defeat nearly a fortnight ago, it was looking ominous for United as City took the lead on seven minutes through Eric Bailly's own goal as he stretched to intercept Joao Cancelo's dangerous cross.
Manchester City outclassed Manchester United to claim a comfortable Premier League win at Old Trafford. A dismal first-half performance consigned Manchester United to a 2-0 defeat, their fourth defeat in six Premier League games.
After the nightmare of that 5-0 Liverpool defeat nearly a fortnight ago, it was looking ominous for United as City took the lead on seven minutes through Eric Bailly's own goal as he stretched to intercept Joao Cancelo's dangerous cross.
Slack defending from Luke Shaw allowed Bernardo Silva to prod in the visitors' second just before the break. But for a series of saves from United goalkeeper David de Gea, City's winning margin could have been even greater.
The result sees Pep Guardiola's side move up to second in the table and cut the gap on leaders Chelsea to two points prior to Saturday's other fixtures.
United could have gone level on points with City with a win, but the chasm between them at Old Trafford was enormous as the hosts put in another low-grade display that put pressure back on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
After a relatively stabilising week leading up to the derby, the heat is back on United and Solskjaer as they sit eight points off leaders Chelsea with just over a quarter of the season gone, a gap that could move to 11 points on Saturday. City return to form domestically after two straight defeats, and sit second.
The result sees Pep Guardiola's side move up to second in the table and cut the gap on leaders Chelsea to two points prior to Saturday's other fixtures.
