Bernando Silva’s assessment of the Manchester derby speaks volumes about Man Utd’s performance.
Manchester United produced a disciplined and energetic display to defeat Manchester City 2–0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
United set the tempo early, pressing aggressively and disrupting City’s build-up play. Early chances fell to Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire, the latter seeing his effort rebound off the crossbar.
Amad and Bruno Fernandes both thought they took the lead at separate moments, but their goals were ruled out for offside.
The Red Devils sustained the aggressive press, and it paid dividends as Mbeumo took the lead for United in the second half. Patrick Dorgu added a second soon after, finishing a well-worked move initiated by Matheus Cunha.
Silva accepts that United “deserved” to win
Throughout his time in England, Bernardo Silva has tended to be on the winning side of derby games. However, today, Manchester City faced a far different United from before.
In recent times, when United have come up against the blue side of Manchester, the red devils have tended to sit back and soak up pressure, which often played into the hands of City, who want to control and suffocate their opponents.
However, United came racing out of the blocks with a sustained level of aggression, domination and technical level from start to finish.
Speaking about his side’s loss, Silva said: “They deserved to win. They had more energy, intention. It always felt like they were close to score, we were never there. We gave them what they want. They took the game to where they’re good and we’re not so good.
“Since I arrived in England we’ve always been very controlled. There was a lot of things missing. Definitely a bad day. I don’t think we have any excuses. It was a really bad performance.”
Is this the blueprint?
Consistency is something that has evaded Manchester United ever since the 2023/24 season, where the club have only ever gotten worse until this season.
Even this season, despite the team being in a battle for the top four, there have been so many false dawns where the club have failed to kick on.
Since the sacking of Ruben Amorim, there has been this buzz phrase that has dominated the chat around United, and it’s “United DNA”. Many people have questioned what the United way of playing is in the modern day, or even if it is possible.
However, Carrick has shown exactly what the United DNA is. It is not a “system”, it is not a formation, it is all about being aggressive, attacking, fearless and getting fans off their seat. Compared to the football under Amorim, there was a notable shift in the way the crowd reacted to the team’s performance.
This should be the blueprint for United going forward, where it does not matter who the team come up against, they go toe to toe with them like today, starting with Arsenal next week.
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