Giant in goal has cured our uncertainty
In that match, also won stylishly 2-1 by City (the only other occasion that United have conceded two goals in a home match under Jose Mourinho’s watch), City produced a first 40 minutes of pulverising possession football that seemed to underline they would be the season’s major force.
Then a ragged last 10 minutes of that first half told onlookers to hold their fire, as Claudio Bravo played kamikaze and the defence crumbled alarmingly.
That this match did not end up a carbon copy, was down to one or two crucial differences.
Once again first to every ball in a stylish first-half performance, City were finally rewarded for their endeavour with the breakthrough after 42 minutes. However, as with last season’s game, a ragged end to the first half let the home side back into the game.
Here most if not all similarities end.
The author of the uncertainty a year ago was Chilean goalkeeper Bravo, who chose an inopportune occasion to showcase his less than tight dribbling skills.
It was the beginning of a dark season for Bravo. His Brazilian successor, Ederson Morais, has taken on the thankless job of staying sharp whilst watching his teammates play keep-ball. As Bravo found to his cost, this is a tricky task: stay focussed, stay with the flow of the game, despite not touching the ball for 20 minutes at a time.
And then, bang.
When it comes to the crunch, be alert and ready to stick any part of your body in the way to save the day. A chin and then two stout gloved hands kept Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mata at bay as United closed in on an unlikely equaliser. Ederson’s presence in goal this season has been a huge fillip for the team.
Witness too the form of Nicolas Otamendi, for whom tackling once meant staying airborne in a horizontal position for as long as the laws of gravity obeyed. Now, knowing the man behind him can not only save everything coming at him, but also play the ball out like a central midfielder, the Argentinean has grown into a giant.
Here he swatted away danger, galloped through the middle to join the attack, setting up City’s first goal and tucking away the second himself.
Not so very long ago, a trip to Old Trafford produced a feeling of such foreboding in City fans that many couldn’t bear to watch. Things have evened up somewhat, with a tumultuous FA Cup semi-final defeat of United at Wembley most people’s choice of pivotal moment.
On the 50th anniversary of the Ballet on Ice, when Malcolm Allison and Joe Mercer masterminded a balletic win over Tottenham on the way to the 1967-68 championship, City’s players again felt the icy sting of snow on their faces and again produced a performance that puts them a cut above the rest on the road to a possible fifth league title.
With David Silva delivering pass after pass (and tackle after tackle) in the middle and City’s attacking trident raiding from unexpected angles (Sterling central, Jesus wide left, Sane wide right), United could have been forgiven for raising the white flag, but they kept at it and played their part in a rousing match.
But City’s expansive play makes the pitch look bigger, for opponents and onlookers alike, while United’s game-plan here was to close everything down to the size of a matchbox. City escaped from the box, as they have done so many times this season, and now the big question must be: who on earth can stop them?
