Man Utd 0-0 Man City: Match report & 4 talking points from derby draw | OneFootball

The latest iteration of the Manchester derby will not live long in the memory as United and City played out an uninspired 0-0 draw.

While both sides had the odd moments of quality, neither did anywhere near enough to win the game, which saw a total of just two big chances created across the entire 90 minutes.

Alejandro Garnacho got in behind in the first 60 seconds and Old Trafford erupted with calls for a penalty when he was tripped, but the contact came marginally outside the box and a free kick was awarded instead. Bruno Fernandes sent his effort straight into the wall.

Phil Foden fizzed wide but United could not believe they were not ahead 20 minutes in when Diogo Dalot's cross went flying across the six-yard box. Manuel Ugarte could not reach his header and Garnacho could not control a desperate effort at the back post.

Ugarte was the next to have a sight of the City goal. Fernandes' dinked cross sent the Uruguay international through at the back post but, yet again, could not control his volley and slashed wide.

There would be no separating the two sides in the first half. City dominated possession, racking up over 60%, but it was United who had the better chances to start a derby which will not live long in the memory.

City seemed destined to take a lead just two minutes after the restart. Foden got in behind and simply needed to pull the trigger, but took too long and allowed Noussair Mazraoui to skew the effort wide.

Omar Marmoush's free kick was comfortably repelled by Andre Onana, who needed strong wrists to push a ferocious volley from the City forward away as the clocked ticked over into the final 20 minutes.

Two United substitutes were next to fire at the City goal. Ederson did well to deny Joshua Zirkzee before Mason Mount's sweetly struck rebound was blocked. It was perhaps as close as United came to breaking the deadlock, but the game simply lacked the quality needed to determine a winner.

Lack of quality leaves fans wanting more

The game failed to get going / Alex Livesey - Danehouse/GettyImages

The verdict on social media was that this could have easily been mistaken for a testimonial for departing City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, such was both sides' approach to the game.

Clearly poisoned by a desire to simply avoid defeat, rather than take a risk in search of victory, neither United nor City seemed prepared to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Pep Guardiola's side had plenty of the ball but rarely looked like causing problems, while United's superior desire was blunted by their continued lack of quality in the final third.

Both sets of players seemed satisfied with the result after the final whistle, but that sentiment was not shared by supporters.

De Bruyne's derby farewell

De Bruyne bows out / Carl Recine/GettyImages

Days after confirming his upcoming departure, Kevin De Bruyne led the City side out for his final Manchester derby. He was lively and active, but rarely effective.

No player lost possession more than the Belgian in the first half as De Bruyne, alongside everyone in City blue, played with lethargy and a lack of ideas which meant United's back line rarely fell victim to the Belgian's typical creative brilliance.

He failed to create a single chance, did not complete any of his dribbles or crosses and won just one of his nine duels in what was a bitterly disappointing final derby for one of this fixture's best-ever.

United win the midfield battle

Casemiro stood out / DARREN STAPLES/GettyImages

Pep Guardiola focused his efforts on winning the midfield battle here. His 4-1-2-1-2 setup was narrow, with Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva all playing behind De Bruyne in a diamond, but the trio all failed to live up to the task.

Their soft approach to proceedings was countered by United's powerful midfield. Casemiro was a dominant, destructive presence, while Fernandes regularly drifted between the lines and found countless pockets of space in which to make things happen.

Casemiro deserves particular praise here. No player in the Premier League this season has made more than his 11 tackles in one game here, while his 13 duels is also a league-high.

Garnacho's response to criticism

Garnacho had his moments / Michael Steele/GettyImages

As United fell to Nottingham Forest in midweek, Garnacho attracted plenty of criticism from United fans and Ruben Amorim even confessed the Argentine wasn't exactly in the best run of form. Still, Garnacho retained enough faith to get the nod here.

He nearly stole the headlines inside the first minute with a powerful drive forwards and could have easily netted in a first half in which he made as much of an attacking impact as any player. The profligacy is an obvious concern but, as those who have played at the highest level often remind fans, the worrying should only start when Garnacho stops getting into those encouraging positions.

Check out the player ratings from Man Utd 0-0 Man City here.