The 183rd Manchester derby ended in a 0-0 stalemate at Old Trafford as United and City struggled to spark life into the local encounter, in a stadium badly missing fans. This will be a first goalless draw in three years at Old Trafford. And first draw in nine meetings between the clubs.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made two changes to the side beaten by RB Leipzig in the Champions League, bringing Paul Pogba and Fred in for Alex Telles and Nemanja Matic.
After four consecutive Premier League wins for the Reds, it will be a disappointment United couldn’t keep that run going but at least the unbeaten sequence has been stretched.
In a cagey match of few clear-cut chances, United’s best in the first half fell to Scott McTominay, who was inches from connecting to a flick at the far post.
For City, Raheem Sterling had a close-range shot blocked by Harry Maguire, while Riyad Mahrez forced a smart save from David De Gea on a breakaway.
Four minutes after the break, United were awarded a penalty when Kyle Walker fouled Marcus Rashford, but it was overturned by VAR for offside in the build-up.
Both sides continued to press for an opener, but their defences were on top, with each side having only one shot on target in the second half. United are seventh on 20 points, a place and a point above City in 8th.
Pep Guardiola’s side have kept three clean sheets in a row in the league for the first time since May 2019. And Six successive clean sheets in all competitions is a new Club record for City.
Match Stats:
| Manchester United | Manchester City | |
|---|---|---|
| 46.1 | Possession % | 53.9 |
| 2 | Shots on target | 2 |
| 11 | Shots | 9 |
| 641 | Touches | 719 |
| 499 | Passes | 577 |
| 24 | Tackles | 6 |
| 13 | Clearances | 1 |
| 4 | Corners | 3 |
| 2 | Offsides | 2 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 13 | Fouls conceded | 6 |
What Next ?
- Manchester United will play against Sheffield United on 17th Dec in a away game.
- Manchester City will host West Brom at home on 15th Dec.
Post-match reactions:
Pep Guardiola, Man City Manager:
“I don’t know the feeling at home, but here we know we can show more intensity but when you attack they can punish you on the counter. We would love to have more chances, but we did have one against one with Mahrez.
“We have to build from here. Without spectators it looks like it lacks intensity but from the touchline, I see the players fight. It’s a good point. I would like to win, but okay, it’s Old Trafford we cannot forget.
“They are so fast upfront. It’s Manchester United. Most parts of the game we were good. We lacked a little bit chances to score, but we were good.”
