When Solskjaer faced the crisis of graduation, the fans of the Premier League opponent solemnly introduced a new vocabulary - scientific sobriety. It means that I hope that the teams will not be cruel to Manchester United, so that the manager can keep the Red Devils position, which is less of a threat than changing the manager. Klopp, who led Liverpool's 5-0 victory over Manchester United, has been criticised as a negative teaching material, while Guardiola may have become a model for scientific sophistication after the Manchester derby. After City established a 2-0 lead in the first half, they only controlled the scene in the second half, did not attack wildly, and finally won by two goals.
The data showed that Manchester City controlled 68% of the ball and passed twice as many passes as Manchester United, but only completed 6 shots on goal in the second half, did not shoot on target, and De Gea, who was very busy in the first half, no longer needed to make a save after 45 minutes of the game. Not only that, Guardiola did not even make substitutions in the whole game, did not arrange more scrappy substitute players, and continued to fight for goals.
Inside Old Trafford, City surrounded and did not attack, just constantly passing the ball, wasting game time and Manchester United's morale. There are clearly significant benefits to this, at least the Red Devils will not lose control of their emotions because they are behind a big score, leading to big moves such as Pogba's Nabi Keita who has injured Liverpool. In the end, Manchester United, who had difficulty grabbing the ball, also raised their hands and surrendered, and basically gave up the counterattack in the final moments of the game.
As a pacesetter in scientific sophistication, Guardiola also praised Manchester United after the game, saying that it was because the Red Devils' counterattack was full of threats that he adopted the attrition tactic. This may also be the way Guardiola has summed up the winning formula after losing four times to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in eight games.
"Manchester United are so dangerous," Guardiola explained to Sky Sports in a post-match interview why he didn't change, "that's why we chose to control the game, if you let Manchester United run at Old Trafford, it will become a bit like Anfield, they just take this style of play." So, today we used the tactics we needed. You have to play faster and pass the ball quickly, and every player needs to touch the ball less and look for gaps to pass the ball. The score was 2-0 and everything was comfortable, so I don't think I need to change."
Manchester City left-back Phil Foden was the hero of the victory when he completely suppressed United's Wan Bissaka. Commenting on the match, he said: "We played the best game of our lives, everything was right, the possession was high, there were many opportunities, we mastered the rhythm from the beginning to the end of the game. It's a pleasure to have the ball in hand, to pick the right moment, to create a threat to your opponent."
Manchester United legendary captain Roy Keane pointed out that the manchester derby game is Manchester City playing Manchester United. 'Manchester City are playing so comfortably, they're playing with Manchester United. Keane said: "It feels worse than losing 5-0 to Liverpool."
Keane added: "Conceding a goal before the end of the first half means the game is over. Manchester City, unlike Liverpool, are happy to control the ball and play manchester United. It's so pitiful, the level gap between the two sides, the strength and the level of decision-making, basically every link is far apart. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but it's a man's game against boys, and it's unbelievable that Manchester United is so bad."