Five Things Learned: Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Manchester City battled to a goalless draw with bitter cross-town rivals Manchester United in a drab Premier League encounter on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s side arrived at Old Trafford on matchday 31 of the Premier League season off the back of two consecutive wins across competitions – a feat which has been difficult at times in a trying season for the club.

The visitors struggled to build on this however, as they encountered a roadblock at Old Trafford with only a handful of attacks created over the course of 90 minutes against Ruben Amorim’s side.

Expectantly cagey, the game between the struggling Manchester pairing was largely tense with chances coming few and far between, seeing the first-half finish goalless and onlookers left relatively unentertained with proceedings.

Omar Marmoush had some opportunities following the restart, with the Egypt international leading proceedings from an attacking perspective from the left of the front-three, and the home side threatened too but the deadlock could not be broken by either side.

The result over in Trafford sees Manchester City remain in fifth position in the Premier League table while Manchester United are placed 13th in the top-flight table with only seven games remaining this season.

Here are Five Things We Learned from Sunday’s clash in the Manchester sunshine!

Europa League – Here We Come?

With more points dropped in what can only be described as a disappointing season, the possibility of Manchester City missing out on UEFA Champions League football becomes a reality.

Like the rest of the ongoing campaign for Pep Guardiola’s players, Sunday afternoon’s match was another disappointing outing which saw a win evade the Manchester City team once more.

With only seven Premier League games remaining, Manchester City really have to lock in and start grinding out the wins should they wish to play amongst the European elite come Autumn.

However, failing to secure Champions League football for the first time in well over a decade would not necessarily affect bringing in players in the summer like it potentially would for other clubs, given the attraction of playing under Pep Guardiola and recent years of silverware.

But such an outcome from the ongoing campaign would undoubtedly be a very disappointing step backwards for the club following the immense progress that Manchester City have made in recent years.

Midfield needs refreshing

When the Manchester City starting line-up was revealed from Old Trafford ahead of the game on Sunday afternoon, several fans online and on the ground questioned it, and they were right to do so.

Included was a senior midfield consisting of 30-year-old Bernardo Silva, 34-year-old Ilkay Gundogan, 33-year-old and outgoing club captain Kevin De Bruyne, and 30-year-old Mateo Kovacic.

For a game of this importance in terms of both bragging rights and the battle for UEFA Champions League places, this is largely not acceptable and a combined age of 127 brought a lack of energy to the engine room and stagnated play.

The signing of Nico Gonzalez from FC Porto during the January transfer window is a good start for sure, but Pep Guardiola needs to completely refresh his midfield if he stands a chance at getting back to his best.

Lack of dynamism

A key problem area on the pitch for Manchester City was a serious lack of dynamism in the team’s attacks, and Pep Guardiola’s decision to opt against deploying pacy wingers Jeremy Doku and Savinho was a questionable one for sure.

City, for the most part, were lacking spark or threat which would have caused issues for United’s back-line. Omar Marmoush again looked lively, but in the absence of several dynamic attacking players, the Premier League champions looked uninspiring and drab.

Nico O’Reilly: Premier League regular

Although significant refreshes are needed in places, others show serious signs of promise ahead of the new campaign for City. One is academy star Nico O’Reilly, who – after starting his first Premier League game in midweek against Leicester – took to his first derby contest.

The young Manchester-born talent did not look out of place in a team full of world-renowned superstars and once again looked confident, helping to keep a clean sheet before being substituted.

There will no doubt be many comings and goings this summer at the Etihad Stadium, but one name that has to stay is Nico O’Reilly, with his performances promising a very bright future in blue.

Kevin De Bruyne’s last derby

The bombshell news last week of Kevin De Bruyne’s upcoming departure from Manchester City upon the expiry of his current contract in the summer hit fans of the club, and the beautiful game in general, hard.

A stalwart for the Citizens over the course of the last decade, the Belgian playmaker’s impact on the club has been nothing short of paramount and, at several times, mesmerising and unique in the game as a whole.

Taking to the pitch in his last-ever Manchester Derby, Kevin De Bruyne looked well up for the occasion and, as he has done since joining City in the summer of 2015 from German football, looked to create.

His shots and passes were just lacking when it mattered, but there is no doubting that the midfielder’s contributions to this fixture over the years have been vital to Manchester City’s many victories.