After 85 uneventful minutes, the Manchester derby sprang to life late on as Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory on Sunday.
[ MORE: Ruben Amorim post-match reaction | Pep Guardiola reaction ]
Perhaps that was exactly how new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim drew it up, and perhaps it was just the latest blow of bad luck to strike four-time defending champions Manchester City as their season further unravels.
Below are the Manchester City vs Manchester United player ratings out of 10, with analysis on each player.
Manchester City player ratings
Ederson: 6 — Was thoroughly hung out to dry on both United goals.
Kyle Walker: 6 — Didn’t cover himself in glory feigning a headbutt from Rasmus Hojlund and didn’t otherwise have much to do as United rarely attacked down the left.
Ruben Dias: 6 — Probably should have gotten tighter to Diallo as he darted in behind for the winning goal, or at least displayed a bit of urgency with the game on the line.
Josko Gvardiol: 7 — The right man, in the right place, at the right time to open the scoring the 36th minute, but whiffed on a potential goal-line clearance of the winning goal.
Ilkay Gundogan: 6.5 — Held the midfield together with near-perfect passing (56 of 57) right where City have been struggling most.
Bernardo Silva: 6 — A shockingly low 33 touches in the game (13 of 15 passing), a relative non-factor.
Kevin De Bruyne: 6 — United did a good job of creating traffic around De Bruyne anytime he got the ball, even his cross for the goal was deflected and technically not an assist.
Jeremy Doku: 6 — Another low-impact performance with just 1 shot (blocked) and 1 successful cross.
Phil Foden: 6 — Only a couple moments of flash and brilliance from the 24-year-old, who has 0 PL goals and 1 assist this season.
Matheus Nunes: 5 — Played the wayward pass and compounded his mistake by committing the foul in the box to give the penalty away. It’s not all his fault, of course, but it sure did unravel from there.
Erling Haaland: 6 — Just 21 touches in the game (2nd-fewest of any starter), including 6 in the first half. Has just 1 goal in his last 5 PL appearances (since early September).
Substitutions
Mateo Kovacic (on for De Bruyne, 68'): 6.5 — Brought some energy off the bench and created a scoring chance almost immediately.
Jack Grealish (on for Doku, 77'): N/A
Savinho (on for Gundogan, 89'): N/A
Manchester United player ratings
Andre Onana: 6 — Made 2 saves, which was 1 more than Ederson made.
Matthijs de Ligt: 6.5 — Didn’t let Jeremy Doku or Phil Foden get in behind more than once or twice all game and was one of United’s most aggressive forward passers (3 into the final third).
Harry Maguire: 6 — Most defensive actions (12, including 5 interceptions) in the game. Emergency defending in the middle of a back-three.
Lisandro Martinez: 6 — Stood up to Haaland to win a vital header early in the game and wasn’t tested very often after that (just 5 defensive actions), as City predominantly attacked the other side of United’s defense.
Manuel Ugarte: 6.5 — Broke up play in midfield very well (11 defensive actions, 3rd-most for United), but that was about it.
Bruno Fernandes: 7 — Perhaps it was drilled into the players by Amorim in training, but United’s midfield simply refused to pass the ball forward in the first half. A bit better after the break and eventually equalized from the penalty spot. Where would they be without him these last few years?
Noussair Mazraoui: 6.5 — No one had more touches (78) or defensive actions (12) when he went off in the 78th minute. Workhorse performance.
Diogo Dalot: 6 — Couldn’t quite get his head to the ball on Gvardiol’s goal, but the cross was deflected and could have gone anywhere.
Amad Diallo: 8 — Contributed very little through 85 minutes, then he won the penalty to equalize in the 86th and scored the winning goal in the 90th.
Mason Mount: N/A — Left the game due to injury in the 14th minute.
Rasmus Hojlund: 6 — Not entirely his fault (see: Bruno), but completely uninvolved in the game (9 touches in the first half).
Substitutions
Kobbie Mainoo (on for Mount, 14'): 6 — Kept the ball well, but like the rest of United’s midfield was mainly there for defensive work.
Joshua Zirkzee (on for Hojlund, 78'): N/A
Antony (on for Mazraoui, 78'): N/A
Leny Yoro (on for De Ligt, 79'): N/A
Victor Lindelof (on for Diallo, 93'’): N/A
