Players.bio is a large online platform sharing the best live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, Golf, Rugby, Cricket, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA, plus the latest sports news, transfers & scores. Exclusive interviews, fresh photos and videos, breaking news. Stay tuned to know everything you wish about your favorite stars 24/7. Check our daily updates and make sure you don't miss anything about celebrities' lives.

Contacts

  • Owner: SNOWLAND s.r.o.
  • Registration certificate 06691200
  • 16200, Na okraji 381/41, Veleslavín, 162 00 Praha 6
  • Czech Republic

Manchester United v Manchester City: the FA Cup final’s key tactical battles

United’s victory in the last derby turned out to be nowhere near as pivotal as it felt at the time. It was a ninth win in a row for Erik ten Hag’s side and took them to within a point of City; approaching the halfway point of the season, they seemed very much part of the title race. A draw at Crystal Palace and defeat at Arsenal in the two games that followed exposed that as fallacy. But that does not mean the game was not meaningful – even if that significance was probably felt more by City than United.

United’s equaliser was the product of the silly modern interpretation of the offside law, Marcus Rashford deemed not to be interfering despite escorting the ball for several yards before Bruno Fernandes scored. But that goal and Rashford’s subsequent winner, which stemmed from an Alejandro Garnacho dart down the left, exposed flaws in City’s midfield as opponents were able to make runs behind the City line.

Erling Haaland had only 19 touches of the ball; the previous season in the derby at Old Trafford, Ilkay Gündogan had the fewest touches of any City player with 74. This seemed the key City conundrum: how to accommodate Haaland, who not merely wanted the ball played to him direct but also didn’t make a huge contribution to the maintenance of possession, which had always been the hallmark of Guardiola sides.

Within three weeks the issue was resolved, thanks to the shift to using four central defenders with John Stones pushing into midfield; Haaland perhaps drops a little deeper than he did, but he still rarely has more than 30 touches in a game. After losing at Tottenham on 5 February, City have been behind for only 15 minutes. But the fundamental point remains; no matter how improved City have been of late, if

Read more on theguardian.com