Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United: 3 crucial factors which stood out in the Manchester derby

#3 City missed some key players

Sergio Aguero

City’s defence has looked a bit vulnerable this season owing to the absence of Aymeric Laporte, one of their most consistent performers from last season. The 34-year-old Fernandinho and an inconsistent John Stones were not able to stop the United counter-attacks.

Moreover, Rodri could not fall back quickly enough to stop the swift moves by United. City were clearly missing Laporte at the heart of their defence.

They also missed Sergio Aguero upfront, as Gabriel Jesus tried desperately to compensate for the former’s absence. However, Jesus did not have the clinical accuracy needed to replace the 31-year-old Argentine striker, who has scored 244 goals in 353 matches for City so far.

Jesus started moving to the left flank frequently in the second half to create space for other players, and Sterling made some forays into the opposition box, but those efforts were not enough to make up for Aguero’s absence.