Manchester United stunned Manchester City with a devastating first-half display as they won 2-1 at the Etihad to leave the champions 14 points behind Liverpool.
United were as spectacular as City were shoddy in the first half, as the visitors raced into a 2-0 lead; Marcus Rashford’s penalty, via VAR, put them ahead (23), before Anthony Martial squeezed a low strike off the post from 18 yards (29).
There was VAR controversy as City were denied a penalty after the ball hit Fred’s arm from a Kyle Walker cross late in the first half, but they didn’t halve the deficit until the 85th minute through sub Nicolas Otamendi’s header from a corner.
City huffed and puffed late on, but their title challenge all but blew up in smoke as United held on.
The result means City must recover the largest points deficit in top-flight history if they are to retain their title, while United have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, and now sit just five points off the top four to lift the weight off Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s shoulders.
In one of the most chaotic first-halves of Premier League football this season, United found themselves 2-0 up as City crumbled to an extent not seen since that infamous 3-2 defeat by United in April 2018.
That day City were champions elect, but now they find themselves 14 points behind Liverpool following their 3-0 win at Bournemouth earlier
Solskjaer encouraged his United side to play a higher line at the Etihad, a tactic seldom used here, but it worked instantly as the visitors picked off the champions at will in their own backyard.
Daniel James, Jesse Lingard and Martial all forced smart saves out of Ederson with shots from in and around the edge of the box from quick breaks, before VAR intervened to hand United a penalty as Bernardo Silva clumsily ran into Rashford. The United forward slotted home to continue his rich vein of form, hitting 13 in his last 14 for club and country.
City were floored and struggled to get up; Rashford miscued a first-time shot wide in acres of space with just Ederson to beat, and then hit the bar with a deft curling effort from the edge, but it was 2-0 shortly after.
City couldn’t live with United’s front four as Martial played a slick give-and-go with James, before the Frenchman squeezed home a low, left-footed shot from 15 yards, in off Ederson’s near post.
Gabriel Jesus should have halved the deficit, heading wide onside from Kevin De Bruyne’s wicked cross, while City were denied a late first-half penalty as Fred handled from Kyle Walker’s cross, but VAR controversially deemed it to be fair.
City probed early in the second half, but United defended valiantly and denied the hosts an early passage back into the game.
David De Gea produced an acrobatic stop from Rodri’s fierce effort, before sub Otamendi rose high above Harry Maguire to halve the deficit from a Riyad Mahrez corner with five minutes remaining.
There was pinball in the box late on as City pushed, but United held on to leave with three vital points. The pressure had been on Solskjaer at the start of the week, but United’s travelling fans sung their back catalogue of odes in support of the Norwegian, as he earned his first win over City as a manager or player.
For City, it felt like an important moment in time as the title they had on lockdown for two years slipped further from their grasp.
