Premier League Roundup: Manchester derby ends in a disappointing stalemate

Manchester United and Manchester City gave nothing compared to what the Manchester Derby is known to be with a cagey stalemate at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Both sides also missed the chance to demonstrate their title credentials with a very drab performance on the day.

United had on three different occasions beaten their neighbours including home and away in the league last season but it wasn’t to be in the first Derby of the 2020/21 season.

The Reds even thought they had won a penalty at the start of the second half when Kyle Walker clipped Marcus Rashford, but VAR rightly stepped in to correct a missed offside.

City, on the other hand, were a shadow of themselves and gave an unusually lacklustre performance but did force under pressure David de Gea to deny Riyad Mahrez in a one-on-one and United captain Harry Maguire came up with key blocks from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne shots.

On an evening when caution appeared to be the focus for both sides, there were just four shots on target in total during the match with either side undeserving of a win.

Instead, the draw leaves United and City four and five points, respectively, off leading sides Tottenham and Liverpool ahead of their games on Sunday.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MATCH

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Manchester United are unbeaten against Manchester City in three games in all competitions (W2 D1), their best run without defeat against the Citizens since March 2016 (another run of 3).
• Manchester City have failed to score in two consecutive away league games for the first time since January 2017 (2 games).
• Manchester United have kept three consecutive clean sheets against Manchester City in all competitions for the first time since a run of four in October 1995.
• Manchester City have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in all competitions, their longest run of shut-outs since another run of six ending in January 2019.
• This was just the fifth goalless draw between these two sides in 47 Premier League meetings, with three of them coming in the last 11 clashes.
• Manchester have failed to find the back of the net in three home league games this season, one more than in the whole of last season.
• Three of the last four instances of Manchester City mustering fewer than 10 shots in a single Premier League away game have come at Old Trafford, with the Citizens managing nine in this game.
• Raheem Sterling extended his run of never scoring against Manchester United to 17 Premier League games, over 10 more games than he’s faced any other side in the competition without a goal.

Manchester United would travel to face Sheffield United next on Thursday at 8 pm, while Manchester City host West Brom at 8 pm on Tuesday.