City have a 12-point lead over United already this season
Sunday 11 November 2018 20:09, UK
Manchester City had too much for Manchester United in winning 3-1 on Super Sunday and a look beyond the scoreline underlines the growing gulf between these two teams...
Manchester City won the derby against Manchester United by three goals to one but that only hinted at their superiority over their great rivals. For the best part of an hour, City looked comfortable and when United got back into it with a penalty, Pep Guardiola's brilliant team proceeded to shut the door on their neighbours at the Etihad Stadium.
Back in April, City's title celebrations were delayed when they lost a two-goal lead in this fixture. That result appeared an aberration at the time and everything that has happened since has only emphasised the growing gulf between these sides. City made it to 100 points last season and, improbable as it may seem, they are on course to do it again.
It was the manner of it. "At 2-1 up, to play like that and control the game, not to sit back, not to go to the edge of your box and soak it up and try to play on the counter-attack, to dominate and control possession and then score a goal," said Gary Neville on co-commentary for Sky Sports. "He has built a wonderful team here, Pep Guardiola."
It was substitute Ilkay Gundogan whose goal settled it. "Patience, composure and brilliance by Manchester City, demonstrating the gulf in class between these teams," said Neville.
So what exactly was the difference between these teams over the 90 minutes? We take a look at some of the numbers that highlight that gap…
Ederson was guilty of a sloppy error in bringing down Romelu Lukaku to allow Anthony Martial to pull one back from the penalty spot early in the second half, but perhaps the most revealing statistic of the game was that the City goalkeeper did not make a single save.
Martial's penalty was the only effort on goal by United in the entire match. Jose Mourinho's team had one shot off target and four more that were blocked. City, meanwhile, had 17 shots in all, with five of them needing saving by David de Gea. He only kept out two.
The contrast in style was clear in the passing numbers. City racked up 704 passes to United's 380. Right from the outset, the visitors could not keep City's playmakers out of the game. "It has been apparent from the first minute that United have tried to get Herrera on David Silva and then Matic on the other Silva," said Jamie Redknapp. "It has not really worked."
With the score at 2-0, City's supporters began to cheer every pass and if that proved premature given that United's goal brought them right back into the game, it was an indication of how comfortable this was for the home team for long periods.
The two styles of play are different but it was City's style that won out on the day and the final goal was the perfect illustration of their passing game. There were 44 passes in the build-up to Gundogan's strike - the most for any goal that has been scored in the Premier League this season.
City's energy levels were also impressive and they were on the front foot in the first half. By the time it was over, they had outrun United by more than five kilometres.
Even their diminutive passers were dispossessing their opponents with Bernardo Silva regaining the ball as many times as any United player and making three tackles too. "You look at these lads and think they will be poor defenders, but they can tackle," said Neville.
There is an absolute gulf between the two teams in performance levels.
Ultimately, the win maintained City's two-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and extended their advantage over United to 12 points.
Neville believes that is a fair reflection of the gap in quality between the teams. "It is sobering to say but we shouldn't compare United to City at this moment in time," he said afterwards. "There is an absolute gulf between the two teams in performance levels.
"Twelve points between the teams is about right after 12 games. United's biggest problem is not Manchester City it is how they get closer to the rest of the top four and get into that race because City are just at a different level right now all over the pitch."
