A City Fan’s Perspective: Convert your chances!

Manchester City drew their local rival Manchester United 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium, but they completely dominated and should have won the match.

City had the ball and the best chances, while United made it clear they were happy with a draw and parked five or six buses inside their box. Sergio Agüero was the most active City player, and after hitting the post in the ninth minute the Argentine striker tried really hard to get a goal, but couldn't.

Gabriel Jesus made his return to the pitch with five minutes left to play, and the Brazilian scored the game-winner in the 91st minute after a cross from Agüero, but Jesus was offside and the goal was correctly called off. In the end, a very good performance from City couldn't give them the win, and United leave the Etihad quite happy, which is hilarious.

Here’s an in-depth look at the match from a City fan’s perspective.

Defense

City managed to hold the clean sheet on Thursday, and the backline deserves plenty of praise for their efforts. United only managed three shots all night, and just one actually ended up on target. Claudio Bravo got injured in the end and his season might be over, which is a shame given the Chilean had a good game for the first time in forever.

The back line played an incredible match. Nicolas Otamendi and Vincent Kompany were dominant throughout the match, and their size and experience was too much for the young United attack. Pablo Zabaleta had an off day at right-back, but Aleksandar Kolarov impressed with a solid performance on the left side.

Midfield

After David Silva suffered a knee injury against Arsenal last weekend, City needed the rest of midfield to step up and create chances for the attack. Kevin De Bruyne was the one who responded the best, and his Man of the Match performance really showed his talent. He completed five key passes, created one big chance which Agüero sent into the post, completed all four of his attempted dribbles, and put one of his three shots on target. Not a bad day at the office for the Belgian, to say the least.

The holding midfield of Yaya Touré and Fernandinho was also solid, but Dinho didn’t look as comfortable as he did in previous game. He only made 3 of his 8 attempted tackles, and struggled to keep control of the midfield. Touré stepped up in his place, though, finishing with a 92% pass accuracy and completing four dribbles.

Attack

While City usually succeed with their wing play, Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling struggled to get much done. Sané only produced one shot all night, and Sterling didn’t do much thanks to United's fierce pressure.

With the wingers not on their best, it was Sergio Aguero who really dominated the attacking trio, but he couldn’t score his opportunitites. He hit the woodwork early on from point-blank range, and only two of his 9 shots were on target.

Sure, he had a solid game up top (9 shots and 3 dribbles), but City’s conversion rate needs to be better. As a team they only put 6 of their 19 efforts towards goal, and they could’ve easily gone up two or three goals had they placed their opportunities well.

To be fair, David de Gea did have one of his best games of the season, finishing with 6 saves on the night, and he was United’s MOTM.

Gabriel Jesus’ return will boost the attack for the few weeks left in the season, but City need to focus on putting their opportunities towards net before addressing the defense in the summer.