‘The worst we have played this season.’ So stated United boss Solskjaer after this first-leg loss at Old Trafford. In truth this match revealed the serious shortcomings of this United side, and City could have had many more before the break, Raheem Sterling being the main culprit. This even with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus left on the bench. This was however United’s first home League Cup defeat against a fellow Premier League side since January 2005 against Chelsea, having won 16 consecutive games of this type before this 3-1 defeat.
Marcus Rashford’s second half goal has given United hope of a comeback, but any potential rally will have to wait until the second leg at the end of the month, as United then failed to break through City’s defense again.
After this performance it is no easy task to pick the United player who mostly influenced the match. However I would opt for young Mason Greenwood. He was entrusted to lead United’s line and didn’t really put a foot wrong, always focusing on driving the team forward. He showed some excellent touches on United’s rare breakaways but he spurned a decent opening at 2-0 that could have got United back into the game, and also snatched at one half-chance which fell his way before the break. He gave a smart assist for Rashford for United’s goal. It is not clear why he was taken off near the end.
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