Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho became involved in a physical confrontation with Manchester City's players after complaining about their post-derby celebrations
Manchester United's defensive deficiencies gifted Pep Guardiola's Manchester City a 2-1 derby victory on Sunday that allowed them to establish a massive 11-point lead in the Premier League. Romelu Lukaku was United's fall guy, his failure to clear two set-pieces enabling David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi to score either side of Marcus Rashford's opportunistic equaliser in first-half injury time.
Manchester Citys Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho (L) and Manchester City's English midfielder Fabian Delph (R) celebrate their 1-2 victory at the end of the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on December 10, 2017. Pic/ AFP
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City's win at a snowy Old Trafford was their 14th in succession in the Premier League, equalling the English top-flight record and setting a new benchmark for consecutive victories within the same campaign. It also gave City an enormous advantage at the summit and with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal having all lost ground this weekend, it will take a calamity to deprive Guardiola's team of the title. Guardiola has beaten opposite number Jose Mourinho in nine of their 20 meetings and this latest win came with the added satisfaction of denying United a club-record 41st home game without defeat.
City were also the last team to emerge victorious at Old Trafford, winning 2-1 in Guardiola's first Manchester derby in September 2016. United saw a run of four wins come to an end and having lost eight of the last 13 derbies, they will find it harder to play down talk of a Manchester power shift. In switching to a back four and naming a fleet-footed attacking quartet of Rashford, Lukaku, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial, Mourinho made it clear he would look to hit City on the break. The visitors were allowed to make the running and their crisp exchanges gave United moments of alarm on the edge of their own penalty area. Raheem Sterling created a shooting chance after a neat-one two with Gabriel Jesus and Jesus procured a sight of goal by sending Marcos Rojo crashing to the turf, but both players shot straight at David de Gea. City made De Gea work hard for the first time in the 42nd minute when Leroy Sane controlled Fabian Delph's deep cross on his thigh and obliged the Spaniard to tip his rasping drive over the bar.
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