Dominant Force: 4 Reasons why City Dominated United in their Derby Ashley Young The England winger has struggled for form in recent months, but David Moyes has surprisingly stuck with him ahead of Nani and Shinji Kagawa. Patrice Evra was exposed at full- back and Young offered nothing going forward. The touch maps show Young’s limited influence. In comparison, Samir Nasri, who played in a similar position on the Manchester City left cropped up all over the pitch. City’s midfield power The signing of Marouane Fellaini from Everton in the summer was supposed to add steel to United’s central midfield, but he made no difference as City’s combination of Yaya Touré and Fernandinho dominated the game from start to finish. Fellaini’s midfield partner Michael Carrick failed to benefit from the supposed physical presence of the Belgian and the pair were unable to counter the threat of Touré. Vincent Kompany The City captain makes all the difference to his team when fit. With Kompany at centre-half, the solidity at the back offers a platform for attacking dominance and United were unable to trouble the Belgian enough to force City on to the back foot. United simply lacked the commanding presence and leadership in their side that Kompany gave to City. Moyes’ failure to be bold Rather than give Nani or Kagawa 35 minutes to inspire a dramatic comeback, Moyes turned to defensive midfielder Tom Clerverley. The game may have been up and it may have been a case of damage limitation but it goes against the United philosophy to settle for a 4-0 defeat rather than go for broke in the most difficult of situations.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:40:26 +0000
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