Manchester United and Manchester City Disappoint, 0-0

Manchester United and Manchester City split points at the Old Trafford today, playing without goals, 0-0, in the English Premier League match of the day.

Apart from Riyad Marhez’s chance in the first half, we haven’t seen anything special, and it is safe to say that this has been one of the most disappointing Manchester Derbies in the last couple of years.

That one scoring opportunity happened after 35 minutes of play, with Kevin de Bruyne set up a nice chance to the Algerian forward, whose attempt was very bad. United’s goalkeeper David De Gea had no problems stopping that shot.

FULL-TIME Man Utd 0-0 Man City

The spoils are shared at Old Trafford in the Manchester Derby 🔴🤝🔵#MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/cccs2KZExW

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 12, 2020

United was waiting for City’s mistake, not being keen on making any rushes upfront. On the other side, City kept the ball in its feet, knowing that it is the best way to protect themselves from the Red Devils’ counter-attacks and quick solo actions made by Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes.

Rashford created a problem for the visitors early on in the second half. He would force the referee to point towards the penalty spot, but that decision was canceled because the English forward happened to be offside before getting fouled.

United’s coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was satisfied with the outcome, suggesting that his team suffered a massive setback during midweek, but answered tonight in the best possible way.

“I’m very pleased with the attitude, how we recovered from the setback during the week, keeping a clean sheet against a very good Man City team,” he said.

After United’s exit from the Champions League, it seemed that the Norwegian would be sacked, but like so many times before, United’s management wouldn’t change its manager. Several sources suggested that if United lost against City, that would cost Solskjaer his position, and avoiding such a scenario might be the reason for his satisfaction.

Guardiola, too was pleased with the way his team played and with one point.

“We created three or four clear chances, you cannot expect many against a team like United, and it was a good point in the end. It will be a good point in the future,” said the Spaniard.

His City is now seventh in the standings with 19 points, one fewer than United, who holds the position no.6. So far, the Citizens have been solid in the domestic championship, but unlike United, Guardiola’s side was very confident in the UEFA Champions League.

Man City have now gone over five hours without scoring against Man United 😳 pic.twitter.com/wdFKCqsQjS

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 12, 2020

After four straight Premiership wins for the Red Devils, they had to settle for a draw in this event. The situation in the club is not good, and following the elimination from the UCL, things will no doubt get much worse. Besides Solskjaer’s status, the main question is Paul Pogba’s future, as his agent recently suggested that the Frenchman wants to leave as soon as possible.

If that happens, the Red Devils’ midfield will suffer a major hit, and the team would need to look for another star to replace the world champion.

United goes to Bramall Lane next Thursday, to face Sheffield United, and after that, awaits Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.

City is in a much better situation, without any turbulences in the locker room. Guardiola’s side has excellent chemistry, and they are still the biggest favorites besides Liverpool to win the title. They are hosting WBA on Tuesday and then head for Southampton.