Manchester United – Man City: Who needs strikers if you have John Stones and Fernandinho?
Two unlikely scorers led Manchester City at Old Trafford past derby rival Manchester United in a 2-0 victory in a League Cup semi-final.
City move to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium in April, Pep Guardiola’s men looking for a fourth consecutive League Cup.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
United have bombed the semi-finals for the fourth time in the last five tournaments, with the exception of the Champions League group stage last month.
Fernandinho scored his first goal since October 20, 2018 against Burnley, his only goal since the start of the season, while the Stones have yet to score a defeat at Napoli on November 1, 2017.
It was 0-0 the last time these two teams met, and they will meet again in the Premier League on March 16 at the Etihad Stadium.
Here’s your summary, video highlights and three things we learned at Manchester United – Man City.
Three things we learned from the Manchester derby
1. Weak. What is … Man United in semis and Harry Maguire with crosses from left? We saw it against Sevilla in the Europa League and against RB Leipzig in the decisive match of the Champions League group stage. . First there was Suso’s goal in the UEL, then Angelino in the UCL, now John Stones is shooting between Maguire and Luke Shaw to put Phil Foden’s free kick into the channel. It’s a dangerous free kick and you can see that Maguire was worried about putting the hard kick in his own goal, but he has to find a way to solve the danger.
2. Steffen’s early rescue must resonate: No one is asking Ederson to hand over his starting point to his American rugby team, but Man City warden Zack Steffen made a tremendous stop in the opening phase of Wednesday’s game. It was one of the few moments of concern City’s improved defense conceded – Ruben Dias and Stones were great again – but do not forget that United did not even have the chance to defend at all costs against City due to one of Steffen’s two saves . on the day.
3. Pep and Mou again: The League Cup final will be the 26th time Guardiola is wise with the old nemesis Jose Mourinho (the 25th time is February 13 in the Etihad). Pep is 11W-6D-7L against Mou, but the Portuguese wizard led Spurs to a consecutive 2-0 defeat of Man City and won three of four against Mourinho, dating back to their time as Manchester derby rival. Whether Spurs – Man City, Bayern Munich – Chelsea or Barcelona – Real Madrid, the storylines have always included the managers. Beware.
Man of the Match: Stones
Ruben Dias and Fernandinho both played important roles in the win, but the Stones’ starting goal softened his strong performance. On a day of 97 touchdowns, the Stones added two tackles, a blocked shot, three clearances and an interception to his goal.
John Stones puts Man City one step closer to Wembley! pic.twitter.com/wGZqo7WDbg
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) 6 January 2021