“The pathetic state of coaching at Old Trafford” – Player ratings as Man City casually dominate Man Utd in 0-2 win

In a devastating afternoon of football, Manchester City destroyed Manchester United 0-2 at Old Trafford.

Pep Guardiola’s men dominated United from start to finish, inflicting the Red Devils’ longest home run without a clean sheet since 1958/59 which was, of course, after most of the squad had tragically died in the Munich air disaster.

Here’s how the players rated at Old Trafford:

---

West Ham vs Liverpool: Betting Offer

Claim this William Hill offer here. 18+. Play Safe. New customers using EPSA40. Mobile only. Applies to bets placed from 12:00 on 4th November 2021 until 16:30 on 7th November 2021. Max £1 bet at 40/1. Returns paid as 4 x £10 free bets (30 day expiry). Player & currency restrictions & terms apply.

---

Manchester United

David de Gea – 5 – Was flawless for 44 minutes making save after save to keep City at bay but right at the end of the opening period he was too soft at his near-post and allowed City to score their second.

Eric Bailly – 3 – Poor with the ball and poor without it as well. His really rash attempt at a clearance opened the scoring for City and he got exposed more times after that too. Subbed off at half-time to protect both him and United from further embarrassment.

Victor Lindelof – 6 – A one-man brick wall and the only Manchester United player to escape the match without debasing himself.

Harry Maguire – 4 – Unusually weak and timid in possession, so placid in terms of active defending. Shocking on the second City goal.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4 – Shockingly naive in his defending of space, allowing City in general and Cancelo in particular far too much joy down his flank. His defending for the second City goal in particular was rancidly passive, and his regression from the tenacious defender he was when he first joined the club is perhaps the clearest indictment of the pathetic state of coaching at Old Trafford. Even Roy Hodgson had him looking better than this.

Man City have now won more Premier League games against Man Utd at Old Trafford (8) than any other visiting team in the competition's history.

Old Trafford is Blue. 😉 pic.twitter.com/zLzf6wn9sN

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 6, 2021

Scott McTominay – 4 – He sure did run around a bunch.

Fred – 3 – Worked hard but so limited with (and, frankly, without) the ball and couldn’t even really disrupt City all that much.

Luke Shaw – 4 – The form of last season has completely deserted him. One nice cross to Cristiano aside, he did nothing. And literally so on City’s second goal when he let the ball sail across him instead of clearing. Came off second-half injured.

Bruno Fernandes – 5 – Too passive on City’s opener, allowing the cross. Then went “hero mode” too early, leading to several needless turnovers. Still looked United’s best avenue of creating a goal, but that’s not saying much.

Fred was dribbled past more times against Man City than any Man Utd player has been in a single Premier League game so far this season:

◎ 7 tackles attempted
◉ 6 x dribbled past
◎ 1 foul made
◎ 0 successful tackles

He couldn't get near them.

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 6, 2021

Mason Greenwood – 5 – Lost in the shuffle of the game. Didn’t see the ball enough to even be classified as bad. Subbed off.

Cristiano Ronaldo – 4 – Had one nice snapshot which was directly at Ederson. A completely ineffective turnover machine otherwise.

Substitutes:

Jadon Sancho (for Bailly 46′) – 6 – Added much greater defensive solidity and showed more attacking impetus.

Marcus Rashford (for Greenwood 67′) – 5 – Added nothing.

Alex Telles (for Shaw 73′) – 5 – Did nothing except almost concede a penalty.

Donny van de Beek (for Fred 80′) – 5 – His arrival precipitated the loudest cheer of the night but he couldn’t lift the side on the pitch.

---

---

Manchester City

Ederson – 7 – Had little to do, but did it well. Saved smartly from Cristiano.

Kyle Walker – 7 – Solid at the back and pushed the ball forward with intelligence.

John Stones – 7 – Wasn’t tested defensively but was nevertheless solid. Almost scored.

Ruben Dias – 7 – Did what little he had to do with his usual serenity.

Joao Cancelo – 9 – Magnificent. Pressing constantly, winning possession back, constantly on the ball, linking play and keeping City’s passing attack on the move. Eluding markers with intelligent movement. Created the opening goal with a quality cross and did the same on the second with a devilish delivery that diced The Red Devils defence.

João Cancelo's game by numbers vs. Man Utd:

125 touches
104 passes
21 passes into final ⅓
8 passes into the box
7 ball recoveries
6 duels won
4 tackles made
4 shots
3 crosses
2 shots on target
1 assist

And he forced the own goal. 👏 pic.twitter.com/VUF26ZX9h2

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 6, 2021

Rodri – 8 – United tried to stifle him with Greenwood but it didn’t work as he completed 105/114 passes, including 99 in United’s half!

Kevin de Bruyne – 8 – Not at his most effective, and completely whiffed on a great chance to make it 0-3, but still created more chances than any City player (4) and looked a menace.

Ilkay Gundogan – 7 – Impressive. United couldn’t live with his off-the-ball movement.

Gabriel Jesus – 7 – Worked hard up and down the right. Gave the ball away a bunch.

Bernardo Silva's game by numbers vs. Man City:

100% final third pass accuracy
95% pass accuracy
86 touches
65 passes
21 final third passes
4 take-ons completed
2 shots
2 crosses
2 tackles made
1 interception
1 foul won
1 goal

Made United dizzy. 🥴 pic.twitter.com/FqHQcwRL38

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 6, 2021

Bernardo Silva – 8 – A dynamic performance from the Portuguese playmaker. Completed 4/6 dribbles and 2/2 tackles. Was a relentless buzzing presence in the final third, linking play and just killing United with his use of the ball. Scored the second goal with a tremendously improvisational finish just before half-time.

Phil Foden – 7 – His movement caused United no end of problems but he wasn’t as clinical as he should have been. Passed up a great chance to make it 0-3.