Manchester Derby: The Reaction And A Look At The Remainder Of The Run-in

Manchester Derby: The Reaction And A Look At The Remainder Of The Run-in

Rivals Manchester United and Manchester City played out a goalless draw at the Etihad in the week, leaving the race for the top 4 still in the balance.

The match extended Manchester United’s unbeaten run in the league to 24 games, some going. Mourinho has made United very difficult to beat, and if the Portuguese manages to add an additional attacking superstar or two in the summer, they’ll be a serious threat for the title next term.

Mourinho was understandably delighted with how is side handled the derby, “They had more ball, they had more chances but I have to defend the players and the spirit of my players and say they were amazing the way they fight,” he said.


The Portuguese clearly rued missed opportunities for his side, notably Ander Herrera’s header just before halftime. The Spaniard looked poised to score, but headed agonisingly wide; Mourinho felt his side would have deserved the lead at that stage.

“In the first half we controlled easily the game, we controlled easily the defensive side of the game and we were always dangerous on the counter-attack and we had two good chances to score,” he said.

The Portuguese was full of praise for young forward Marcus Rashford, the teenager is in top-form for United, as he spearheads their attack in the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“Marcus (Rashford) gave their defenders lots of problems, they stopped him sometimes with lots of fouls, so for me the spirit was amazing and the first half was really good.

“In the second half, I think they were stronger than us. Despite the fact that we were very strong defensively, we didn’t create enough problems in attack and we allowed them to be more offensive and play more in our half,” he added.

The draw still leaves United well in the hunt for a top 4 spot. Mourinho’s men sit in 5th spot, and are 2 points behind Liverpool having played a game less, and are 1 point behind city, having played the dame amount of games.

Tomorrow sees relegation strugglers Swansea rock up at Old Trafford. To finish in the top 4, United will need to put the Swans to the sword before the upcoming trips to both White Hart Lane and the Emirates which could prove pivotal to all involved for their top 4 chances or possibly title chances for Spurs. With more of the same fight and spirit they showed on Thursday night, United can finish the season strongly and snatch a top 4 berth, dumping one of their great rivals in the Europa League.