Manchester United: Four Key Matches That Defined Their Season
1. March 8, 2020, The New and Improved Manchester United beats City (again)
Bruno Fernandes’ arrival at Old Trafford sparked an excellent run of form for United leading up to the second league derby of the season at Old Trafford. They had won four and drew two in all competitions beating Chelsea and Watford along the way.
The run of form saw them proceed into the final 16 of the Europa League and, most importantly, brought them within three points of the coveted fourth and final Champions League spot. Manchester City came into the match an insurmountable 25 points behind Liverpool. Their dream of a third straight Premier League title was left on the side of the road with two flat tires.
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Since mid-January, partly to compensate for the loss of Marcus Rashford to injury, Solskjaer had experimented with a two or three-man front line in either a 3-4-3, 4-4-2 Diamond or a 3-4-1-2.
For City, he chose the latter with Fernandes in the center midfield, with Daniel James and Anthony Martial upfront.
This triad was a dynamic and creative spark plug for the Red Devils throughout the match. They were relentless on counter-attacks with their pace and creativity.
On a free-kick in the 28th minute, Fernandes chose to do a Panenka kick, which looped over the head of Sergio Aguero landing at the feet of Martial, who had made the perfect break into the box, then slammed the ball through Ederson’s arms for the match’s first goal.
Instead of going into a shell and hoping that City would not break them down as in previous matchups, United continued to use their energy, pace, and creativity to create more scoring opportunities.
In the closing moments, Ederson left his goal unattended while hurling the ball into open space where only Scott McTominay could get to it. The 23-year-old midfielder who had just started coming back from injury, curled a long-range shot into the empty net to seal the match, 2-0.
Next. Complete absence of Jota is a curious subplot. dark
It was Manchester United’s best all-around performance of the season. David de Gea made some incredible saves, the defense was solid (allowing City an xG of 0.59), and the offense created multiple opportunities with speed and inventiveness.
The match defined their season as it showed how far Manchester United had come throughout the season and a glimpse at a brighter future.