Manchester United vs Manchester City result: Five things we learned as Bernardo Silva and Leroy Sane seal win

Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola's side remain on course for the Premier League title

After an edgy opening against an initially re-energised Manchester United, Manchester City‘s quality shone through at Old Trafford as a 2-0 victory saw Pep Guardiola‘s side place one hand on the Premier League trophy.

United began brightly, answering the critics of their desire, but as those energies began to fade City’s quality started to take hold.

Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling both came close towards the end of the first half, before Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half with a low drive.

Leroy Sane then doubled City’s lead to expel any threat of a nervy finish as David De Gea inexplicably failed to stop the German’s whipped shot at the near-post as United succumbed to a seventh defeat in nine games.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

United respond to criticism, albeit temporarily

After dusting themselves down from the swathes of criticism and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s public taunt, his squad responded with an enlivened and spitefully embittered edge. There was no lackadaisical running back, just Andreas Perreira scything through the legs of Zinchenko, Paul Pogba tracking his runners in defensive midfield and United successfully managed to disrupt City’s rhythm and the game.

By pressing aggressively, United suffocated the space at the back Pep Guardiola’s side usually revel in, squeezed Oleksandr Zinechenko and Kyle Walker out wider to create more spaces to break into, and, most importantly, won territory. It was the type of performance United sustained so brilliantly at Wembley against Tottenham during the highs of Solskjaer’s early reign, minimising the pressure they have to soak up, and always keeping City honest to the counter-attack.

Pivotal to United’s approach, was the space and freedom granted by Solskjaer’s team selection with Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard sitting just behind. With Fred, Pogba and Andreas Perreira lining the centre of midfield and shuffling between them, the attacking pair were able to interchange at will, drift to either flank and always back themselves to outrun City’s centre-halves on the counter-attack.

Their pace had a clinical and incisive impact from the very beginning of the game. Vincent Kompany was quickly booked for a body check that nullified one threatening breakaway. Moments later, only the brilliant sweeping of Ederson allowed him to beat Rashford to Lingard’s through ball by a fraction of a second. And so even once City began to cast their imposing shadow, United always possessed a sting in the tail that threatened to catch the champions out.

But eventually, after around 35 minutes, the adrenaline and energy that had Marcus Rashford jumping up and down in anger after being bundled over by Kompany began to subside and City grasped the foothold in the game that they’d never let go. But for Solskjaer, at least in defeat, on this occasion United gave their all.

Rashford was initially a dangerous presence for United (Man Utd via Getty Images)

City’s quality shines through as United’s well runs dry

But soon United began to resemble a boxer who’d blown their gasket too early, whose pent up drive had carried them through the early rounds against oversized opposition but could only hold off City’s superior quality for so long.

It began at the end of the first half, as Sergio Aguero twice managed to peel off Chris Smalling and only narrowly blaze shots across the face of goal. And then just minutes before the half-time whistle, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s pass split open the gap between United's defence and a quickly tiring midfield, a neat piece of interplay between David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan then opened up the cramped space before Sterling wriggled past three tackles only for David De Gea to save his clawed shot.

And after United summoned another early gust at the beginning of the second half, City soon found themselves with space at the back to rekindle their metronomic passing, established a lopsided hold on possession and allowed Bernardo Silva to command the game like a puppeteer, waltzing in tailcoat through the final third until a goal felt like an inevitability.

Bernardo shines again

It was Bernardo Silva whose idle grace dragged City to victory against Spurs on the weekend and, tonight, it was the little master again who provided the added layer of quality that broke United’s resistance.

Criminally allowed to cut inside onto his left foot by a flat-footed and caught-square Luke Shaw, the Portuguese midfielder, jinked, opened his shoulders as if to float towards the far corner before driving low to the near-post at an angle where Shaw’s body had blinded De Gea’s view.

It came off the back of a series of chances where City had come so close but could not quite source that killer instinct, the decisive dagger to relieve them of the mounting pressure. But in a game that often became strained and frenetic, he remained calm and lifted the weight from his teammates shoulders. From thereon, City never looked as though they’d let it go.

Bernardo celebrates breaking the deadlock (Man City via Getty Images)

De Gea’s slide sees City put one hand on the title

After so many years of the reliable, and almost dumfounding, reflexes, the sense that David De Gea’s unflappable mentality appears to have unravelled is unavoidable. Whether it’s the looming questions over his contract, or simply a slump after such a brilliant series of match-winning performances that covered for a rickshaw defence, it was the Spaniard’s error again that compounded his side’s misery.

At the Nou Camp, the transfixing daze of Lionel Messi’s aura could be held as, if not a reason, an excuse. But tonight, as Leroy Sane cut off the left-hand side and thrashed a shot towards the near-post, there could be no veil for De Gea to hide behind. He stretched a leg only for the ball to slice into the side-netting and with that mistake, after a rare spell of pressure, United’s race was run. Ten minutes later, and a clumsy backpass almost gifted City another and the mental scars of those errors were patent. In a side struggling to recapture that something lost, he is the last cog United can afford to become faulty.

David de Gea’s error cost United (Action Images via Reuters)

City put one hand on the title

Three games to go, nine points required and Manchester City know the title is theirs. This was not the last, but certainly their greatest trial, a derby at the home of their old rivals with so many possibilities to wreak havoc through pride and hatred alone, swatted aside comfortably. In doing so, Guardiola’s side put one hand on the Premier League trophy. With only Burnley, Leicester and Brighton to come, no matter the cliché of only focusing on the next game, the end is bright and clear at the end of the home straight.

For United, it’s a seventh defeat in nine games, further damage to their top-four hopes and another dollop of petrol onto the curiously cratering atmosphere that was so quickly lauded about the club. Suddenly, the sunshine brought by Solskjaer has turned into a haze and the future a little more clouded, its only silver lining being that Arsenal’s recent combustion, collapsing to a second successive defeat - losing 3-1 to Wolves tonight - at least brought some respite in the faltering race for the Champions League places.