Down to ten after 23 minutes, Manchester City held Manchester United to 1.0 xG and won with a goal the referees' body later admitted should have been reviewed.
The numbers
| Manchester City | Manchester United | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 45.3% | 54.7% |
| Shots | 6 | 16 |
| On target | 2 | 3 |
| xG | 1.1 | 1 |
| Corners | 7 | 6 |
| Pass accuracy | 82.3% | 86.9% |
Result the chances deserved: Manchester City 38% / 30% / Manchester United 32% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma, Nunes, Guéhi, Dias, Gvardiol, Anderson, Foden, Cherki, Fernández, Semenyo, Haaland.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martínez, Dorgu, Tielemans, Mainoo, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford, Cunha.
Manchester United subs: Šeško (67', Tielemans), Zirkzee (83', Rashford). United head coach: Michael Carrick. Yellow cards: Gvardiol (79'), Fernández and Maguire (80'); Maresca booked for dissent (45+2'). Sub minutes from City's own match report. FotMob lists City in a 4-1-4-1; Coaches' Voice describes a 4-2-3-1 press before the red card, and City's site a 4-4-1 after it.
Key moments, move by move
- Donnarumma goes long and Ndiaye wins the second ball to start the move (Coaches' Voice).
- Manchester City work it out to Gvardiol, whose cross takes a deflection off Dorgu.
- Enzo Fernández, in an offside position six yards out, dives at the ball and misses it. Martínez goes with him.
- Haaland is free at the back post and taps in. The flag goes up, but VAR finds him onside and gives the goal.
Ten men, a 4-4-1, and three players kept up for the break
- Man-to-man before the red card. Manchester City started with an aggressive, player-oriented press: Foden and Haaland went at the centre-backs, Anderson took Bruno Fernandes and Nunes jumped out to Dorgu (Coaches' Voice).
- 4-4-1, then 5-3-1. After Foden's 23rd-minute red card Manchester City dropped into a 4-4-1 low block. It became a 5-3-1 whenever Semenyo followed Dalot's forward runs (Between the Posts). Cherki moved to the right, then made way for Ndiaye at half-time.
- Keep a threat on the break. Maresca kept Haaland, Semenyo and Ndiaye up as outlets, and Manchester City became "far more direct and vertical" in the second half (Coaches' Voice). The goal started from a Donnarumma long ball and an Ndiaye second ball.
- Manchester United's volume, not quality. The hosts pushed six players high (a 2-2-6, per Coaches' Voice) and had 16 shots to 6, but only 1.0 xG. Rashford's free kick (45+1') and Mainoo's curler (51') hit the woodwork, and Donnarumma saved from Mbeumo in stoppage time.
Recreate it in FM26
Manchester City's derby plan: man press, then direct outlets
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Donnarumma | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Nunes | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Guéhi | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Dias | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LB | Gvardiol | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| DM | Anderson | Defensive Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RM | Foden | Wide Midfielder | Wide Midfielder |
| RCM | Cherki | Midfield Playmaker | Pressing Central Midfielder |
| LCM | Fernández | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Central Midfielder |
| LM | Semenyo | Wide Midfielder | Tracking Wide Midfielder |
| ST | Haaland | Centre Forward | Central Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessMore Direct
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- Goal KicksMixed
- TempoHigher
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Trigger PressMore Often
- Defensive TransitionRegroup
- Cross EngagementContest
The idea: The starting plan was a man-oriented press with Foden and Haaland on the centre-backs. The part worth copying is what came after: a wide midfielder who tracks the opposing full-back into a back five, and a strong Central Outlet striker who holds up long balls for a quick winger to run onto.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 won't reshape the side after a red card; switch Line of Engagement to Low Block and bring on a quick winger for the playmaker, as Maresca did with Ndiaye.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Bouaddi on at 65' (for Anderson). Keep the 4-4-1 and the three outlets, which is what won the game. The one change: fresh legs in midfield after an hour a man down, so Manchester United's late pressure (Mbeumo's chance, Maguire's header) finds a sharper screen. It moves Manchester City's win chance from 38% to 40% (xG 1.10–1.00 becomes 1.10–0.90). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Manchester City needed
Ayyoub Bouaddi
Manchester City spent 67 minutes a man down with Anderson and Fernández covering Manchester United's midfield, and Fernández was booked at 80'. Bouaddi had been City's calmest player in Porto five days earlier, with seven ball-winning actions. He was the obvious fresh pair of legs for the last half-hour, when United had their best chances.
Martín Zubimendi
With ten men, Manchester City's single holding midfielder had to cover the width of the pitch in front of the back four while Manchester United pushed six players forward. Zubimendi's positioning and quick passing would have screened that space and got City out on the break faster.
What the analysts said
“I think Erling was onside and Enzo doesn't interfere with the action.”Enzo Maresca
“We tried to defend well, but also to keep some threat in transition with Erling, Antoine and Iliman.”Enzo Maresca
“The explanation I got was that he wasn't interfering with play. I just don't get it.”Michael Carrick
“He was there, I went to him because he was in front of me, that's why Haaland was free.”Lisandro Martínez
Well organised, and lucky: on chances the derby was a coin toss.
Start with the numbers. Manchester City had 1.1 xG to Manchester United's 1.0, six shots to 16, and two on target to three (Sky Sports, FotMob). United had an extra man for 67 minutes and still did not create more than City. That is a real achievement, and most of the credit goes to how City reorganised.
The 4-4-1 was narrow and patient, and it became a back five whenever Dalot pushed on. Manchester United answered with six players high up and no fixed striker, with Cunha and Fernandes playing as attacking midfielders (Coaches' Voice). That filled the box with bodies but not with good chances: 16 shots produced 1.0 xG, and their two best moments were a free kick and a shot from outside the box that both hit the woodwork.
Then there is the goal. Fernández was offside six yards out and dived at Gvardiol's deflected cross, and Martínez went with him, leaving Haaland free. Pro Ref, the referees' body, told Manchester United the same evening that VAR "should have recommended an on-field review", and the VAR officials were stood down (Sky Sports, Football360). Without it, 0–0 was the fair result.