{"id":186610,"date":"2023-01-14T17:50:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T17:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/man-utd-beat-man-city-offside-row-rampant-rashford-and-haaland-muzzled\/"},"modified":"2023-01-14T17:50:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T17:50:04","slug":"man-utd-beat-man-city-offside-row-rampant-rashford-and-haaland-muzzled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/man-utd-beat-man-city-offside-row-rampant-rashford-and-haaland-muzzled\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd beat Man City: ‘Offside’ row, rampant Rashford and Haaland muzzled"},"content":{"rendered":"
Manchester United sent out a statement of intent to the rest of the Premier League with a dramatic comeback victory against Manchester City.<\/p>\n
A local derby which was already rich in sub-plots delivered plenty of drama, especially in the second half when Jack Grealish’s opener was overturned by Bruno Fernandes’ controversial equalizer and then Marcus Rashford’s close-range winner.<\/p>\n
Our experts analyze the major talking points.<\/p>\n
The biggest controversy at Old Trafford revolved around United’s equalizer in the 78th minute.<\/span><\/p>\n GO DEEPER<\/p>\n Why was Bruno Fernandes’ goal allowed to stand against Manchester City?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Casemiro’s pass over the top looked intended for Marcus Rashford’s darting run forward, but the striker was clearly in an offside position when the ball was played. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n however, Rashford never touched the ball as it fell into his path; instead, he allowed the onside Bruno Fernandes to strike it home.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fernandes’ being celebrated and immediately protested his case to the assistant referee, and Scott McTominay \u2014 who was readied for substitution \u2014 threw his arms up in protest on the touchline.<\/p>\n So, was it the right decision? Casemiro’s pass was surely intended for the offside Rashford, but the Englishman’s choice to not touch the ball allowed the game to play on and Fernandes’ goal to stand.<\/span><\/p>\n Although Rashford did not touch the ball as the assistant referee initially believed, there is an argument he was so close to the ball and City’s players that he was interfering with play. Rashford’s run shielded the ball from at least one defender and created a situation where Ederson could not come off his line to collect Casemiro’s pass.<\/span><\/p>\n But former Premier League referee Peter Walton on BT Sport said he did not believe Rashford interfered with play, and ultimately the officials agreed. City, it is fair to say, did not. <\/span><\/p>\n Carl Phoenix<\/em><\/p>\n After Bruno Fernandes’ equalizer went in, Pep Guardiola was spotted pointing to his temple on the touchline. He was reminding his players that for all the controversy surrounding the goal, they now had to retain focus.<\/span><\/p>\n Four minutes later, they were behind. It is a familiar pattern, one that City supporters have come to know during the Guardiola era. For all the unprecedented success, there are short, sharp moments when everything collapses in on itself.<\/span><\/p>\n Think of the three goals in six minutes in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid last year. The two in three minutes against Tottenham in the 2019 quarter-finals. The three in nine against in defeat at Anfield in 2018, which ended the long unbeaten record of eventual Centurions.<\/span><\/p>\n Before Fernandes’ levels, City were dominant and in the ascendancy but have had to learn the hard way over the years that they are almost never safe.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps that is part of the reason behind Guardiola’s push for a greater sense of tactical control, which has provoked such debate around his selections and arguably contributed to a tepid, unimaginative first half display.<\/span><\/p>\n And yet despite that push for control, City are still capable of suddenly and irrevocably losing it.<\/span><\/p>\n Mark Critchley<\/em><\/p>\n It is six goals in six game for Rashford, who is arguably the Premier League’s in-form player \u2013 some transformation for someone whose future was being openly debated in Manchester (and well beyond) last season. <\/span><\/p>\n The 25-year-old had a strange first half, unable to convert two decent chances before keeling over with what looked to be a hip or upper leg issues. He persisted in the second half eventually moving to center-forward after a brief experiment with Antony up front.<\/span><\/p>\n Ultimately he had the crucial say in how this dramatic game ended, with his goal and offside \u201cinterference\u201d for the equalizer evidence of his counter-attacking threat. But there are newer tools to his game as well. His left foot has improved, so has his heading and passing.<\/span><\/p>\n Team-mates are trusting him with the ball more and he is playing with such confidence he isn’t taking an additional touch to steady himself for shots if he trusts himself to test the keeper early. <\/span><\/p>\n Fernandes finished the game with the man-of-the-match award, but his embrace with Rashford at full-time showed who is the talismanic figure of this United side in early 2023. <\/span><\/p>\n Carl Phoenix<\/em><\/p>\n Jack Greatish does not score many. He never has, really. The most expensive player in Premier League history’s personal best for a single season is a grand total of 10 in the 2019-20 campaign for Aston Villa.<\/p>\n Grealish’s harshest critics have therefore always had a clear, obvious deficit in his game to point to: a lack of end product.<\/p>\n To build their defense, his fiercest supporters have always had to delve into the realm of more advanced statistics: progressive ball carrying, penalty area touches and the like. It’s not as persuasive an argument.<\/p>\n
\nCity lapse into bad habits<\/h2>\n
\nRashford on fire<\/h2>\n
\nGrealish’s bittersweet big moment<\/h2>\n