Football News

Ederson stopped Man Utd going 4-0 up vs “unbelievable” City, says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

By Mohamed Moallim

Published: 20:20, 7 December 2019

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes the scoreline did not do Manchester United justice following their 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Etihad.

The record 20-time English champions went into this weekend’s showdown as the underdogs but produced a scintillating performance worth of their club’s reputation.

Man City 1-2 Man Utd: Five key things to know…

  • Marcus Rashford opened the scoring from the penalty spot, his 10th league goal this season.
  • Anthony Martial on his return from injury doubled United’s lead before Nicolas Otamendi pulled one back late on.
  • This was Man Utd’s second league win in three meetings at the Etihad.
  • No other team has won on multiple times away to City with Pep Guardiola in charge.
  • The result leaves City 14 points behind Liverpool while United move to within five points of the Champions League places.

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Marcus Rashford, from the penalty spot, and Anthony Martial would hand the visitors a 2-0 lead just before the half-hour mark, but it could have been easily more if not for Ederson in the City goal.

Pep Guardiola’s defending Premier League winners made the final moments interesting as Nicolas Otamendi halved the deficit but any chance of hauling the Red Devils back soon evaporated as did their chances of winning three league titles on the bounce.

A fourth defeat in their opening 16 league outings, coupled with Liverpool being near perfect, has opened up a 14-point gap between the pre-season favourites though Leicester City can move to within eight of Jurgen Klopp’s men if they leave Aston Villa will all three points on Sunday.

As for the here and now, Solskjaer was jubilant after capping off a week that also saw them run out 2-1 winners against Spurs, now managed by former United boss Jose Mourinho. And although he was delighted with the performance of his own goalkeeper, David de Gea, it was the form of Ederson that frustrated him as the Brazilin shot-stopper prevented a heavy win.

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“We’ll remember this one, we look so dangerous when we get he ball and go forward against arguably the best team in the world,” he told Match of the Day.

“They are an unbelievable team and to get a result and defend like we did and create as many chances…we should have been three or four up but for some good goalkeeping.

“It’s hard to take the ball off them. They can football teams to death but with the pace and threat we have, we look dangerous every time we go forward.

“It does not matter where you win the ball it’s that you are positive when you get it. The team shape was spot on, but individually they had to dig deep against some of the best players in the world. That’s part of the game. It was a memorable night for Aaron [Wan Bissaka] who has been unbelievable since coming to club.

“You defend so well but you are disappointed that you concede on a corner, which is not their strength but I can’t complain to much. David de Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world. We’ve expected high standards off him and he is getting back to his best.”