Manchester United defeated Manchester City during Sunday’s English Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
United winger, Amad Diallo struck a last-gasp winner at the Manchester derby to give Manchester United a stunning double-blast to secure a 2-1 victory at neighbours Manchester City that continues Pep Guardiola’s champions’ wretched run.
In the first half of the match, Josko Gvardiol headed in the opener on 36 minutes as the visitors’ struggles defending set pieces were again exposed from a short corner.
It was the stand-out moment in a dour first 45 minutes in which both teams showed anxiety and a lack of quality.
United had the better openings in a similarly lacklustre second period but could not conjure up a response until Diallo won a penalty four minutes from time that allowed Bruno Fernandes to level from the spot.
The Red Devils then sent the visiting fans into ecstasy when Diallo latched on to a long pass, went past Ederson and fired into an empty net at the death.
The result means Man City sit fifth, nine points off leaders Liverpool, having played a game more with just one win from their last 11 matches in all competitions. United rise to 12th with a second league win under new boss Ruben Amorim.
Next up, United visit Tottenham in the League Cup quarter-finals on Thursday before hosting Bournemouth in the league on Sunday. City visit Aston Villa on Saturday.
For long spells, the game lacked quality with United’s weakness at set pieces looking like it would prove decisive in terms of which colour of the city would be enjoying the bragging rights.
Step forward, Amad Diallo. The youngster was United’s main threat throughout and seized upon an error from Matheus Nunes to win the penalty for Fernandes to level before following his assist with a stunning solo goal.
It was an out-of-the-blue double blast from United and it means a largely forgettable derby will live long in the memory in the red half of Manchester.
It may well be a catalyst and a significant moment for Amorim too, with the Portuguese boss no doubt feeling justified in making a big decision ahead of kick-off as he dropped both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho from his squad.
As for City, it must feel like it is going from bad to worse for Guardiola. This was an eighth loss in 11 matches and surely kills their hopes of retaining their title. The champions look devoid of belief and even managed to lose a game in which they had laboured towards the finish line against what had been a toothless United.
The pressure is mounting on the Citizens and their manager with it looking more and more likely they will need to spend well in January to save their season.
Maresca’s Chelsea continue winning run
Chelsea survived a late Brentford fightback to clinch their seventh successive win and close the gap to Premier League leaders, Liverpool, to just two points.
The Blues had not beaten Brentford at Stamford Bridge in the league since 1946 but goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson were enough to dispatch a bogey team, despite Bryan Mbeumo’s 90th-minute strike giving hope to the visitors.
Cucurella’s diving header put Enzo Maresca’s side ahead just before half-time, though a string of missed opportunities by the hosts kept the game in the balance and Brentford hit the woodwork, moments before Jackson’s well-taken effort doubled Chelsea’s advantage.
Mbeumo slotted under the otherwise impressive Robert Sanchez at the start of seven additional minutes but the Bees could not force another chance meaning Chelsea can go top for at least a few hours with a victory over Everton next week.
Liverpool have a game in hand over Chelsea and the sides do not meet again until the final weeks of the Premier League season, while Brentford drop out of the top half thanks to the defeat and Tottenham hammering Southampton.
The Bees were toothless for much of the game, and it was only the introduction of Fabio Carvalho, Kevin Schade and Kristoffer Ajer with 15 minutes to go that sparked the visitors into life at Stamford Bridge.
After notching just one shot in the first half, Brentford began to pepper Sanchez’s goal and only a sublime fingertip save prevented Christian Norgaard from equalising, moments before Carvalho slammed an effort into the crossbar and onto the goalline, with the ball cruelly bouncing back into the six-yard box instead of the net.
However, with Brentford finally starting to commit numbers forward in attack, space opened up for Jackson to pounce and despite a healthy dose of injury time, the visitors couldn’t make Mbeumo’s bolt from the blue truly count.
