3 Mistakes that led to United losing the Manchester derby

#3 Not pressing high when not in possession

Manchester City made a staggering 643 passes on Sunday as opposed to United's 319. That was possible simply because United did not press high when not in possession and let City dictate the game to them. They were waiting to get the ball back in case of a missed pass or fumble but made no attempt to get the ball back themselves.

City, on the other hand, pressed very high and got the ball back from United whenever they lost it. They did not give United's players any time on the ball nor did they let them play within their comfort zone.

United need to learn how to press high because no top opposition is going to give the ball away easily and certainly not Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Jose Mourinho needs to instill this in his team and make it clear that having possession does make a lot of difference to a game.

About the author

Mohul is a senior football, cricket and Olympic Sports writer at Sportskeeda, and has been in the organisation for more than 6 years. Some of his best work includes 118 exclusive interviews with famous sports personalities, insider talk and transfer speculations. He has also covered the entirety of the 2023-24 ISL season, Kalinga Super Cup and 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League from the ground.

An MBA degree holder in Finance, Mohul is also a professional cricketer and is currently in the reserves for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy team. He’s also played league football in Hyderabad.

His football interest sparked after watching countless Rahim League matches at the Gymkhana and supporting the State Bank of Hyderabad. He grew up hearing stories about the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim and his incredible football team of the 1960s, which had a big influence on him. He has admired Manchester United’s dominance in English and European football as well.

Tennis star Leander Paes, Olympic gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricketing legend Rahul Dravid and football star Chinglensana Singh are Mohul’s favorite athletes. He is a staunch Hyderabad FC supporter, and Sahil Tavora’s 88th-minute equalizer in the 2021-22 ISL Cup final against Kerala Blasters is one of his favorite footballing moments. Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Olympics also had a huge impact on Mohul.

In his work, he strives to write relevant, accurate and unbiased stories by conducting thorough research. When not working, Mohul enjoys reading books and listening to heavy metal and rock music.

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Edited by Abhinav Munshi