Manchester City avenged last seasons derby defeat with an assured performance over their Manchester rivals at the Etihad.
David Silva opened the scoring after just 11 minutes when Bernardo Silva squared the ball across goal from Raheem Sterling’s cross.
City striker Sergio Aguero slammed in a second shortly after half time as United looked to be sinking without trace.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku looked to have given United a lifeline moments after coming off the bench though, when Ederson hauled him down for a penalty.
Anthony Martial carried on his rich vein of form to reduce the deficit to a goal, but City were not done yet.
The home side added a third late on when they strung together 44 passes before sub Ilkay Gundogan slotted home following another cross from Bernardo Silva to wrap up the points.
Here are the games talking points…
1. Silva lining
Such is the form of midfield duo David and Bernardo Silva this season, you could almost be forgiven for forgetting City still had Kevin De Bruyne to return.
The Belgian midfielder has rarely been involved this season due to injury, but scarcely have his team looked like needing him, thanks largely to the form of the two Silvas.
David Silva opened the scoring with his seventh goal in all competitions already this season – which is only five behind his best tally for the Citizens.
His goal would not have been possible had Bernardo Silva not gambled on Raheem Sterling’s cross before squaring back for his namesake to fire home.
Bernardo buzzed with creative exuberance all afternoon, whilst skipper David was the linchpin in City’s midfield.
Pure gold from the Silvas. Kevin who?
2. Five in five for Martial
His goal may have only came from the penalty spot – but Anthony Martial still had to put it away.
And in doing so the Frenchman stretched his Premier League tally to five goals in the last five games.
The 22-year-old had a fairly frustrating afternoon, but still managed to get on the scoresheet, which shows how far he has come from the beginning of the season.
When you consider he looked to be on his way out of the Old Trafford exit door in the summer, he has now made himself a key member of United’s starting XI.
If he can carry on this form, the Red Devils may still have a chance of making the top four come May.
3. Laporte and Stones are rock solid
Whilst City were lightning going forward, they were also supreme in defence, as they snuffed out any United attacks before they had even begun.
The last derby match saw Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi start as the central defensive pairing, as they shipped three second half goals on their way to defeat.
This time round it was Aymeric Laporte and John Stones at the heart of the back four – and they were outstanding.
Laporte and Stones – who cost a combined £107 million – have made themselves the number one pairing for boss Pep Guardiola, and they showed why.
They may have conceded, but that was largely out of their control, and should not overshadow just how good they were at limiting United to scraps in front of goal.
4. Sergio A-grey-ro
Football has always been a playground for questionable hairdo’s.
And this week it was the turn of Man City striker Sergio Aguero – who dyed his hair GREY for the occasion.
The Argentinian hitman sported his new do for the first time after revealing it on social media during the week .
But after his scintillating strike for City’s second, we could well be seeing a few more grey barnets around the country, as he rifled in a rocket to make it 2-0.
Aguero has now scored eight goals in Manchester derbies, and is just one away from drawing level with Franny Lee and Joe Hayes who have nine each in the fixture for the Sky Blues.
Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness did notice something strange about City’s first goal however – as Aguero appeared to berate referee Anthony Taylor rather than celebrate with his teammates.
The 30-year-old appeared to be disappointed at not being awarded a penalty and a chance to add to his tally.
He soon made up for it though.
5. Missing Lu
Jose Mourinho opted to leave £90 million striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench again for the derby clash – but it appeared to backfire.
United struggled to hold the ball up in the forward areas, which was further exacerbated by the sloppy passing of forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Both players gave the ball away several times in the opening 45 minutes, with Martial almost gifting City a goal, while Rashford ran the ball out of play.
The Red Devils strung together some nice play at times, but couldn’t make the ball stick up top and lacked a focal point for their attacks.
Whilst Lukaku has almost been held up as a scapegoat for United’s poor form this season, he made an immediate impact after coming on – winning a penalty for his side.
Mourinho must be left wondering what might have been had he started the Belgian from the off.
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5 talking points
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