On Sunday evening, the last match of the 16th round of the English Premier League took place.
A true football spectacle took place at "Old Trafford" stadium - "Manchester United" clashed with "Manchester City". After a fierce battle, Pep Guardiola's pupils achieved a victory with a score of 2-1 and rewrote the history of the Premier League - becoming the first team to win 14 consecutive matches.
From the very start of the match, "Man City" players started playing more actively. The "Cityzens" dominated possession and made it difficult for their opponents to think about positional attacks.
Throughout the first half, both teams did not have many opportunities to score, but the first goal of the match was scored by the visitors from the "Etihad" stronghold.
In the 43rd minute, David Silva was left alone against David De Gea after a not very successful attempt by "Man Utd" to defend a set piece and with a precise shot, he put the visitors ahead.
However, "Man Utd" unexpectedly attacked the "Man City" defense and scored the equalizer during added time of the first half. Fabian Delph, who played insecurely in defense, let the ball past him, and Marcus Rashford behind him left no chance for Ederson.
The second half unfolded similarly - "Man City" dominated possession, but there weren't many dangerous attacks. Nevertheless, in the 54th minute, "Man Utd" once again made a defensive mistake - Romelu Lukaku's unsuccessful attempt to clear the ball hit Chris Smalling in the back, and Nicolas Otamendi, who had the ball at his feet, restored the "Cityzens" lead.
After the second goal, the game changed drastically - the "Red Devils" had fewer options and had to spend more time with the ball and take shots, which was not the easiest task for Jose Mourinho's troops.
In the 85th minute, the hosts had two real chances to equalize, but Ederson played incredibly in goal. Initially, the Brazilian saved R. Lukaku's shot with his face, and then deflected Juan Mata's shot with his foot from close range.
However, those were the last two episodes in which "Man Utd" had the opportunity to equalize. In the remaining time, "Man City" could have scored at least one more goal, but Bernardo Silva's shot went wide.
For the "Man Utd" team, this was only the second defeat at "Old Trafford" with J. Mourinho in charge. Meanwhile, "Man City" made history and surpassed London's "Arsenal" 13-game winning streak recorded in the 2001-02 season.
While the remaining four of the top five teams were dropping points over the weekend, only "Man City" secured a victory, taking a firm step towards the title. After the victory, the "Cityzens" extended their lead over second-placed "Man Utd" to 11 points.
Result:
"Manchester United" 1 - 2 "Manchester City"
43' [0 - 1] D. Silva
45+2' [1 - 1] M. Rashford
54' [1 - 2] N. Otamendi
League table:
