In a game dominated by defensive errors and great goalkeeping, it was Manchester City who went to Old Trafford to defeat their rivals in red in a very pivotal Manchester Derby featuring the top two teams in the Premier League.
Not only did Manchester City win 2-1, they extended their lead to 11 points and broke a 125 year record by winning their 14th straight top-flight English game, breaking a five-way tie between Chelsea (2016-17), Arsenal (2001-02), Preston North End (1891-92) and Sunderland (1891-92).
Manchester City may have made history but it wasn’t easy. It’s never easy to get through a Jose Mourinho defense but City was fortunate to take advantage of a couple mistakes that led to goals.
The first came about right before halftime in the 43rd minute. Off the corner kick, a failed clearance fell to the foot of a lone David Silva who turned and poked the ball through the goal to grab a 1-0 lead.
Silva puts @ManCity one goal closer to that record-breaking win! pic.twitter.com/GsEYmXHsjF
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 10, 2017
But that lead was short lived because Man City’s defense decided to make a mistake of their own. After mistiming the cross, the ball got through to Marcus Rashford, who put it level right before halftime.
Rashford levels it right on the brink of halftime! #MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/g3moKGEsEY
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 10, 2017
But in the end, United wanted to one-up their opponents with goal causing mistakes. Romelu Lukaku mishit the ball on the free kick and turned right to Nicolas Otamendi. Otamendi drilled it in and cemented the 2-1 win.
The goals kind of distracted from what was a pretty good goalkeeping battle between Ederson and David de Gea. Both did their best to keep their teams from conceding but it was mistakes through no fault of their own that did them in. The best save, and potential Premier League winning save came from Ederson, who made a double save after using his throat to get the first save.
EDERSON! 😱 pic.twitter.com/RUnMrAGnrc
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 10, 2017
Now the question is if the league is already over and Manchester City will be Premier League champs. We’ve learned never to appoint anyone the winner this early but even if Manchester City struggles at any point in the season, them winning the Premier League will be dependent on other teams having to go on a run to catch up and I just don’t think that is happening.
Manchester United has the best chance out of anyone to catch City and they aren’t exactly primed to go on a PL title run. They just lost to City so they have one more game to try and directly pick up points.
Some people are quietly mentioning whether Manchester City can join Arsenal’s “Invincibles” and go through the league unbeaten. First, let’s see them get past the festive period before even remotely entertaining the thought. And second, it’s not happening. Whether it’s going to be injuries, an off day in a random game or concentrating on Champions League and needing to rotate before or after a game, Manchester City is bound to lose at some point. But despite that, this is Man City’s title to lose and they got a big step closer to that today.
