Manchester City defeated Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Manchester City earned the early bragging rights in the Manchester derby as Pep Guardiola’s men secured a 2-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s United in an entertaining encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The fixture was billed as one of the most intriguing Manchester derbies in years, and the game itself certainly didn’t disappoint the neutral as both teams sought victory in an end-to-end classic.
It was City who ultimately picked up all three points, with Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho grabbing first-half goals before Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time.
City deserved their victory in the end for a professional performance, and it was in midfield where they really took control of the game with Fernandino in particular dominating the middle third of the pitch.
| Shots | Key Passes | Tackles | Effective Clearances | Ball Recoveries | Touches | Accurate Passes | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernandinho | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 84 | 57 | 90 |
| Paul Pogba | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 68 | 35 | 90 |
As shown by the table provided by Opta, the Brazil international came up against United’s record signing Paul Pogba and subsequently dominated the Frenchman in a number of key categories.
Fernandinho posted more effective clearances and ball recoveries, while in possession he he racked up more touches of the ball and displayed both more passes and a higher pass accuracy rate.
But arguably the most telling statistic is that the Citizens man completed both more shots and key passes, despite being more defensive-minded than Pogba and tasked with a more reserved role.
Pogba didn’t have a particularly bad game, he was just outshone by his opposite midfielder and City’s dominance in midfield was without doubt a key element in securing all three points.
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