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What a result for Manchester United. Consider Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's job saved.
The Premier League title race may already be over, and Manchester United may just be back into the fight for a top-four spot. In an unexpected result, Manchester United went to the Etihad and beat rival Manchester City 2-1. The Red Devils were without Paul Pogba and really struggled with City's possession for much of the match, but it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team that had the better touch in front of goal for a massive three points that cools the seat underneath him.
United, with goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthoyn Martial, has now beaten Tottenham and City back-to-back just weeks after losing to a team from Kazakhstan in the Europa League.
Here's the winning goal from Martial:
Here are three takeaways from the match:
Silly Silva error costs City
Bernardo Silva is a player that is usually calm and confident, and rarely is he reckless. But his unnecessary challenge on Marcus Rashford in the first half was a clear-cut penalty and such a poor decision by him. Sliva had defenders around him to help and would have been much better trying to double team Rashford or force him towards the end line, yet he gives up the penalty kick that Rashford delivers into the back of the net to set the tone.
Here's the finish:
From there, United had the momentum and increased belief they could do it, and they did.
Rashford becoming the leader in attack
It wasn't just the penalty kick from Rashford; he was fantastic all game long. He hit the crossbar, came close on another challenge and just looked like he was in a different gear with his dashing runs on goal. This United team never replaced Romelu Lukaku after he left for Inter Milan over the summer, and it has taken a while to get going, but Rashford is the guy the team has needed to provide some consistency in attack. Rashford now has 10 goals on the league season, good enough for third in the Premier League, and he's a big reason why the Red Devils end the day just five points behind Chelsea for fourth and on a five-match unbeaten streak.
Too little, too late for City
It was one of those nightmare games. Before the match, if you had told me City had 22 shots, 72 percent of the possession and almost 400 passes more than United with an 89 percent pass accuracy, I would have bet City scored at least three goals and had beaten United. Except those 22 shots produced just five on goal, and City now finds itself 14 points back of league-leader Liverpool.
City was pretty sharp on the ball for the most part, but it was that crucial final pass to create top chances that was missing nearly all game long. City had some good looks, but once the first half ended and the chances just kept going wide, it felt like it would just be one of those days. After the late goal from Nicolas Otamendi, there was always a chance of an equalizer, but in the end it was too little, too late for Pep Guardiola's team as their title hits take a huge blow.
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