EPL Matchday 28 of 38: United end City’s winning streak / Fulham stun beleaguered Liverpool
Updated: 17/11/2024
EPL Matchday 28 of 38: Manchester United end City's winning streak as Fulham stun beleaguered Liverpool.
Manchester City 0, Manchester United 2 – Sunday, March 8, 2021
Goals early in either halves from Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw helped Manchester United end Manchester City's 21-match winning streak at the Etihad stadium on Sunday evening.
United started the evening on a sensational note when Anthony Martial was brought down by Gabriel Jesus inside the box with a mere 34 seconds of play gone. Referee Anthony Taylor had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Bruno Fernandes shot powerfully to the right and even though Ederson got a hand to the ball, he could not stop it from crashing in. 0-1 to the Red Devils in the 2nd minute and the 24th goal of the season for Fernandes.
City responded well through Olexandr Zinchenko and Ilkay Gundogan around the half-an-hour mark when they forced United goalkeeper Dean Henderson into fine saves. City looked hungry for an equalizer as Kevin De Bruyne's free kick was tipped over by Henderson while Riyad Mahrez's shot went just past the post minutes before the interval.
City, in fact, came close to levelling with Rodri's effort being clipped the top of the bar. United did not have to wait long for their second of the evening when the outstanding Luke Shaw who earlier missed an opportunity to score, found his first goal of the season.
The English left-back led a counterattack, exchanging a series of passes with Marcus Rashford before beating Ederson with a low shot through a maze of City defenders to make it 0-2 in the 50th minute. The visitors almost found a third in the 68th minute when Anthony Martial was through on goal but shot straight to Ederson from very close range.
Raheem Sterling came very close to grabbing one of his rare goals against United late on, but he failed to connect to a searching Kyle Walker cross that screamed across the face of the goal. A similar scene was repeated from a Mahrez cross with an onrushing Gabriel Jesus cannoning into the near post.
City kept pressing but United's resolute defense held out as Ole Solksjaer became the first manager in club's history to win his initial three away meetings against City across all competitions.
The Red Devils while still 11 points behind their city rivals, have moved to the second spot with 54 points, one ahead of third-placed Leicester City and look secure in the Top four.
United's whose recent goalless stalemates at Chelsea and Crystal Palace were met with frustration by fans, looked a tight-knit unit at the Etihad who were seriously dangerous on the breaks as they threatened to work their way back into contention.
Pep Guardiola will be bitterly disappointed that it was United who finally brought his winning run to an end, but then, this loss is likely to dent his side's title aspirations in any way.
Manchester City starting XI: Ederson (goal), Joao Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.
Subs: Walker, Foden
Manchester United starting XI: Henderson (goal), Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, James, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Greenwood, Matic, Williams
Man of the match: Anthony Martial
Liverpool 0, Fulham 1 – Sunday, March 8, 2021
Liverpool's dismal run at Anfield continued when they succumbed to their sixth consecutive defeat at the venue with a 1-0 loss to relegation candidates Fulham in a Premier League clash on Sunday.
The visitors posed a constant threat from the start with their first big chance coming in the 30th minute when Josh Maja was denied from close range by Alisson. Ademola Lookman who looked dangerous on the left flank, nearly opened the scoring moments later but his shot was blocked by Liverpool right-back Neco Williams.
Fulham took a deservedly went ahead at the stroke of half time when Andy Robertson failed to clear a corner and Mario Lemina then dispossessed Mohammad Salah on the edge of the box before unleashing a low shot into the bottom corner.
Liverpool went close to levelling two minutes after the interval, but Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola pulled off a fine acrobatic save to thwart Diogo Jota's well-timed volley from inside the area. Substitute Sadio Mane went close in the 70th minute but his looping header clipped the post.
Liverpool pushed for a late goal, but Fulham held on to secure an important win that kept their chances of survival alive. The Cottagers despite their lowly 18th spot on the table are remarkably unbeaten in eight away games, their longest without defeat on the road in Premier League history and Sunday's win will give them huge belief for the remaining ten games of the season.
As for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, the Reds have slipped to the 8th spot and are in danger of being overtaken by Aston Villa who are only three points behind but have a couple of games in hand.
Other results from Sunday, March 8, 2021 games
- West Bromwich 0, Newcastle 0
- Tottenham 4, Crystal Palace 1
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