Premier League 2019-20: How Solskjaer and United's young brigade plotted the downfall of the champions in the Manchester Derby

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was under a tremendous amount of pressure just last week, after dropping points against Aston Villa and Sheffield United. After the sacking of Unai Emery and Marco Silva, it looked like Solskjaer would be the next in the firing line.

But the Norwegian managed to turn the wheel slightly as his Manchester United team picked up three points each against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

On paper the Manchester Derby was a mismatch, with Pep Guardiola's side being the superior team in terms of experience, skill and overall quality of football. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus seemed quite a handful for United to handle.

But Solskjaer had other ideas, and we have seen throughout this season that Manchester United look a different team when pitted against the big boys in the league. They drew against Liverpool and Arsenal, and beat Chelsea and Tottenham despite being in poor form against the weak teams.

The derby was further evidence that under Solskjaer, Manchester United are best when on the counter-attack. The first 30 minutes of the match saw the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Daniel James and Jesse Lingard run the Manchester City backline ragged, as United piled on the pressure and found holes in transition.

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League

The quality of defending by Manchester United during the derby was outstanding as well, with the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka putting in the blocks and intercepting passes consistently, further frustrating Manchester City. United showed character in the game; they fought tooth and nail in the second half despite being under attack constantly.

City were attacking throughout the second half and although they snuck in a goal in the 85th minute, United managed to hang on with some resolute defending in the dying minutes of the match.

For City, the loss will be heartbreaking. Not only did they lose to their rivals at home, but they are now 14 points off the league leaders Liverpool. It looks like a third PL title in a row is slipping away from Guardiola, with injuries as well as an intense style of play catching up with the Citizens.

They are still a high-quality side and on their day can beat anybody, but this might just be the time where they switch focus to the Champions League and make sure they win that trophy. That said, with players coming back from injury, don't be surprised if City go on a hot streak; they have the players to do so, they just need to be tighter in defence.

If United can open up CIty like they did in the opening exchanges of the match, then there will be many teams in Europe who can do the same if not better. Guardiola will need to try and bring in some defenders in January to make sure his team stops leaking goals.

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League

For Manchester United and Solskjaer, this win is a shot in the arm and will raise the confidence of the young brigade. Now it's time that they show consistency and bring this quality of football to every match.

They need to be more creative when they have majority possession in the game. Whether that comes from a change of personnel or formation is up to Solskjaer, but United definitely need to string together some wins against weaker oppositions.

In Martial, Rashford and James they have an energetic front three and with Scott McTominay and Fred finally settling in, the midfield looks much more organized. In defence, Wan-Bissaka looks like the best of the lot and is getting reasonable support from Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire.

They just need to avoid silly mistakes and bring more discipline to their games. Who knows, a few more wins in a row can open the door to the top four, which looked highly unlikely just a few weeks ago.

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