And so the Manchester derby has been and gone once more, with the sky blue denizens of the city earning the bragging rights over their rivals in red for the fourth successive time in the Premier League. Although the 168th edition of the derby was not a classic in the mould of the famous Denis Law game of 1974, United’s thrilling 4-3 triumph in 2009 or City’s table-turning 6-1 victory in 2011, there were still plenty of talking points to garner from the game. Barring a mouth-watering draw in the FA Cup, the two sides will next meet in April for the corresponding league fixture at Old Trafford, and both Manuel Pellegrini and Louis van Gaal will certainly need to address some fundamental issues with their squads before then. Here are four things we picked up on after yesterday’s game.
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CLICK ON SMALLING TO REVEAL THE FOUR
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1. City need to improve markedly if they are to catch up with Chelsea
A crucial three points, a clean sheet and another goal for the ever-reliable, ever-lethal Sergio Aguero, yet the result cannot disguise the fact that City – strong favourites going into the tie – still struggled to dominate against a team who for a half-and-a-bit were playing with 10 men. Indeed, United came close to snatching a draw towards the end, and Manuel Pellegrini should count his lucky stars that they didn’t as failing to win for a fourth match in a row would have only ramped up the pressure before a crucial Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow in midweek. Presently, the Citizens look worryingly inferior to last season when they were crowned Premier League champions, and Pellegrini will have to urgently identify the reasons behind his side’s underperfoming if they are to have any chance of preventing Chelsea from breezing to the title in May. His job may depend on it.
2. Indiscipline in defence, not a lack of defenders, is van Gaal’s biggest worry
United went into the derby with Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Rafael absent through injury, and the news that Marcos Rojo now faces a spell on the sidelines after dislocating his shoulder in the defeat further compounds Louis van Gaal’s defensive woes. Much has been made of United’s top-heavy transfer spree, splashing the cash on attackers above all else, yet it must be remembered that a considerable sum was also spent on bringing Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind to the club. Their biggest problem is not a lack of defenders – their injury crisis in this area is unfortunate, but every club goes through one at some point – rather, it is the glaring lack of discipline at the back. This has been evident at various points in the season (the defeat to Leicester City, the League Cup humiliation at MK Dons) and came to the fore on Sunday with Chris Smalling’s mindless sending off for two bookable offences in one of the biggest games of United’s season. Van Gaal was right to brand the defender as stupid in the aftermath of the defeat, and were it not for Rojo’s injury he might also have similarly lambasted the Argentinian, who was lucky not to concede a penalty for a poor tackle on Yaya Toure at the end of the first half. Despite what has been said, the Red Devils still have some pretty handy defenders on their books. However, their collective indiscipline must come as a worry to van Gaal.
3. Pellegrini’s preferred strike duo still up in the air
The irreplaceable Sergio Aguero is one of the few definites in the Manchester City starting eleven, yet the question of who he partners in attack looks a long way from being resolved. Pellegrini has always favoured a system which utilises two strikers, and while Edin Dzeko is usually the man he relies on to team up with Aguero, on Sunday he opted for Stevan Jovetic. Despite excelling with two goals against Liverpool at the start of the season, the Montenegrin has since struggled for City, and he did little against United to suggest that he can form an effective partnership with Aguero. With Dzeko oscillating too often between superb, stand-out performances and anonymous, ineffective no-shows, is it time for Pellegrini to look for another striker in January?
4. Further proof of need for instant replays?
A team never emerges from a derby defeat thinking they were the lucky ones in the tie, yet United were certainly fortunate that the score after 90 minutes stood at only 1-0. On three separate occasions, Manchester City had credible penalty appeals turned down, and were it not for Aguero’s rescue act on the hour mark there would have been uproar. One of these appeals involved a late lunge by Marcos Rojo on Yaya Toure, and if Maroune Fellaini did indeed spit at Sergio Aguero – which went unnoticed by the referee in the heat of the action – United could very well have ended the game with eight men. A referee cannot be expected to get every decision right, not least in a fiery derby when flying tackles, explosive arguments and desperate penalty shouts occur with greater regularity. What is needed in football is an adoption of instant replays, as a quick referral to a video referee – which will only be justified by the most contentious incidents so as not to slow the pace of the game down – will ensure that no team leaves the field feeling aggrieved by a perceived decision gone wrong. The technology has been around for years, yet the fact that such a move would be considered revolutionary shows just how much modernisation is required in the game.