Three things we learned as spineless Manchester United are beaten 1-3 by Man City | OneFootball

Manchester United made their way to the Etihad Stadium to take on rivals Manchester City in a crucial Premier League clash.

City are fighting for the title while United are eager to command a top-four finish and qualify for the Champions League ahead of next season. There was plenty at stake.

Erik ten Hag who has been under fire in recent days started Andre Onana in goal.

He named Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof in defence. Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro were tasked with forming the pivot.

Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay were the two advanced midfielders and regularly shifted positions between the middle of the park and occupying the false nine position.

Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho started on the left and right flanks respectively. Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 1-3 loss against Manchester City.

Rashford answered his critics

Rashford has dominated the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons in past weeks.

This season alone, he has been punished twice by Ten Hag for disciplinary issues – once in October after he went out to celebrate his birthday following a 3-0 loss at the hands of City at Old Trafford and more recently when he missed training after a bender in Belfast the night before.

In Rasmus Hojlund’s absence due to injury in games against Fulham and Nottingham Forest, Rashford led the line but wasn’t very good.

Against Forest in particular, he came under intense criticism from the likes of Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney for his perceived bad attitude and failure to get into good goalscoring positions. The United man has made no secret of his desire to play on the left wing, where he feels he is more effective.

Before the game, Ten Hag conducted an interview with and explained that Rashford could be unstoppable vs. Pep Guardiola’s men but only with the right attitude.

It seems like the 26-year-old heard his manager and certainly responded in kind.

Just eight minutes into proceedings at the Etihad, Rashford shed first blood in sensational style. A brilliant defence-splitting deep pass from Onana found Fernandes, who held up the ball well before passing it along to an incoming Rashford.

The Carrington academy graduate unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box that ricocheted off the inside of the woodwork. Ederson simply had no chance of saving it.

Rashford’s evident delight could be seen in just how wildly he celebrated with his teammates.

He had another chance to find the back of the net when Fernandes found him with a nice diagonal ball inside the box but unfortunately, the forward scuffed his lines and was unable to connect with the ball.

Rashford was a danger, especially in the opening 45 minutes. He gave the City defenders something to think about and kept running at the likes of Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias when the opportunity presented itself.

Rashford’s goal vs. City was his sixth league goal of the campaign. Hopefully, it will give him the confidence to embark on a scoring run as the business end of the season approaches.

He was taken off in the 74th minute with the score still at 1-1 and replaced by Antony. In hindsight, maybe Ten Hag would have been best served by keeping Rashford on.

Onana is steadily turning a corner

One United player who proved that he is turning a corner if he hasn’t already is Onana.

The goalkeeper arrived in the summer from Inter Milan with huge expectations on his shoulders considering he was coming in to replace the departed David de Gea.

However, in the early stages of the campaign, Onana failed to live up to his billing and committed multiple high-profile howlers that dearly cost the Red Devils, especially in the Champions League.

For a number of matches now, the Cameroonian has been impressive and seems to be showing why Ten Hag splashed big money to secure his services.

Against the reigning Premier League champions, Onana was arguably United’s best player on the pitch – not that the ceiling was very high anyway.

In the first half, he came up with several big saves that kept City from breaching his goal and restoring parity.

Onana’s biggest save came about when he denied Phil Foden in a one vs. one situation. He also kept out a stunning low-driven shot from Rodri that seemed destined for goal.

Another impressive aspect of the goalkeeper’s game was just how well he came out of his line to claim corners and collect the ball, This was very helpful in relieving pressure and giving his teammates some seconds to breathe.

His passing and distribution were crisp. Indeed, United’s opening goal came about as a result of this.

Onana’s excellent display carried on into the second period of the match. On one occasion around the 48th minute, he got a strong hand to a curling effort from Doku who momentarily got the better of Dalot.

The United man was not at fault for City’s equalizer. Foden sent it to the top-left corner, well beyond his reach. Lindelof should have done better not to allow the England international to get a shot off from his favoured side.

Something else that may go slightly unnoticed is how well Onana did in running down the clock, seemingly in an effort to take the sting out of the game and to give United time to reorganize themselves.

It seems like Onana’s worst days are behind him. He did not deserve to be on the losing side.

Ten Hag set to come under more pressure

Foden completed his brace before Sofyan Amrabat gifted Erling Haaland a goal for City’s third of the match.

The two late goals sealed United’s fate and ensured their city rivals ran out winners as many had expected.

United have now lost 11 games in the league this term. If Ten Hag found some relief after masterminding a mid-week win vs. Forest, all the pressure is right back on him after the loss against City.

As the Dutchman seeks to keep his job under the new INEOS regime, another defeat on the board hardly helps his cause.

Confidence in his tenure is waning with each passing game and it certainly won’t be lost on decision-makers like Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford.