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The first Manchester derby of the season ended in a goalless stalemate, with the two sides mustering just a single short on target each, but there were some notable performances in both teams as well as some pretty disappointing ones.
If you were unable to watch the game live, make sure to check out our Manchester United and Manchester City player ratings. And all you who did watch the big match, you are more than welcome to comment on the ratings and give us your feedback.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
David De Gea – 6
The Spain international probably couldn’t imagine he would spent the entire match as a mere onlooker, and his only involvement in the game was an easy save from Jesus Navas’ tame shot in the closing stages of the match.
Antonio Valencia – 7
A surprise inclusion in the starting line-up at the expense of Matteo Darmian, the Ecuadoran gave City left-back Aleksandar Kolarov a real tough time in the first half, although his end product left something to be desired. Came off with injury in the late stages, but not after producing a promising performance.
Chris Smalling – 7.5
The England centre-back is proving to be one of team’s most consistent performers this season and he coped really well with powerful Wilfried Bony as well as being on hand to help his defensive teammates keep the opposition players at bay. Even came very close to scoring a winner in the dying moments.
Phil Jones – 7
The solid showing in the Manchester derby proved that the lengthy absence hasn’t had an effect on the centre-back’s form and even though he had several misplaced passes, this can in no way affect a commanding defensive showing for the England starlet.
Marcos Rojo – 7
The Argentine is not the most polished left-back in the Premier League, but he worked hard to prevent Kevin de Bruyne from making an impact and definitely succeeded in his quest. Didn’t offer much going forward, but it was not as if the impressive Martial needed any help down the left hand side.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 6.5
The Germany star was calm on the ball, helped out defence and didn’t make too many mistakes, but did not exactly justified his inclusion ahead of Michael Carrick. Schweinsteiger was often too slow in the build-up play, although he did his main job of covering for the back line with success.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 7.0
The former Southampton hotshot is slowly developing into an important player for Manchester United and while he is just as impressive in defence as his more experience partner, Schneiderlin offers much more going forward, with several long passes helping launch swift attacks.
Juan Mata – 6.0
Juan Mata has played some good games this term, but this was definitely not his day as the Spaniard would go missing for large periods of the match and didn’t do much even when he received some good passes in the final third.
Ander Herrera – 6.5
Did a lot more than his compatriot, helping out in defence while making plenty of forward runs and constantly changing positions to make it difficult for Man City players to mark him. However, failed to carve out a single clear-cut chance for his attack-minded teammates.
Anthony Martial – 7.5
The 19-year-old is quickly justifying the hefty price tag and he was probably United’s best player today. Had no problems getting past Sagna down the left despite the fact that his compatriot often had help from midfield players and produced a brilliant lofted pass to create the best chance of the game, only for Jesse Lindgard to hit a crossbar.
Wayne Rooney – 6.5
The England captain had another difficult day at the office as he couldn’t get into scoring opportunities, but worked his socks off for the team and if it hadn’t been for his nudge on Nicolas Otamendi, Manchester City would have probably won the game.
Subs
It was substitute Jesse Lindgard (-) who came the closest to scoring at Old Trafford, latching on to a marvellous pass by Anthony Martial and producing a smart finish that unfortunately landed onto the crossbar. Meanwhile, Marouane Fellaini (-) set up a good chance for Chris Smalling in the final moments of the match, whereas Matteo Darmian (-) did nothing worth mention.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1)
Joe Hart – 7
Another keeper would have probably suffered from being idle for the long periods of the game, but the England number one was alert to intercept Marcos Rojo’s pass to Juan Mata in a manner that would not embarrass Manuel Neuer, while also producing a very good save to deny Chris Smalling later on.
Bacary Sagna – 6
The Frenchman was surprisingly preferred to Pablo Zabaleta, and that proved to be a poor decision as he offered nothing going forward while largely struggling to keep Anthony Martial at bay.
Vincent Kompany – 7
The captain proved he remains an undisputed member of the Manchester City back line with a commanding performance even if he had a lot of help from his defensive partner Nicolas Otamendi.
Nicolas Otamendi – 7.5 (Man of the Match)
The Argentine didn’t put his foot wrong in the Manchester derby, as he was excellent in the air, confident on the ball, and always alert to help out when some of his teammates would fail to do their jobs properly.
Aleksandar Kolarov – 6
The Serbian defender is currently the only option on the left flank and his defensive frailties were there for everyone to see as he was unable to contain Antonio Valencia, while his forward runs were not as convincing as usually.
Fernando – 6.5
Covered a lot of ground in the centre of the park as he usually does, allowing Fernandinho more freedom going forward and we are sure Manuel Pellegrini will be happy with his performance.
Fernandinho – 7
Relished being given more freedom and started several dangerous counter-attacks with quick forward passes, proving that he is much more than a simple passer of the ball and someone who does the dirty work.
Kevin De Bruyne – 5.5
The Belgian had earlier showed that he has potential to play at this level, but was utterly disappointing at Old Trafford, misplacing quite a few passes and crosses as well as losing a number of duels to Marcos Rojo.
Yaya Toure – 5.5
Given a more advanced role in the absence of David Silva, Yaya Toure failed to prove all the doubters wrong and this was probably one of his worth performances this season. The Ivorian couldn’t make any sort of impact on the game and it looks as though he may very well be past his prime.
Raheem Sterling – 6
Raheem Sterling was nowhere to be seen for large periods of the Manchester derby, and he offered almost nothing to Manchester City attack before he was replaced by Jesus Navas, although the England hotshot did help Aleksandar Kolarov in defence on several occasions.
Wilfried Bony – 6.5
The Ivorian had the unenviable task of deputizing for one of world’s top strikers, but he looked pretty good in the first half, holding up the ball nicely and bringing teammates into play. Bony did struggle to make an impact in the second period, but that also had to do with the fact that he was starved out of service from midfield.
Subs
Jesus Navas (-), Martin Demichelis (-) and Kelechi Iheanacho (-) were all introduced in the second period, but were mere spectators in what was a pretty uneventful game.
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