Manchester United Vs. Manchester City: 15th Minute, Following City, Micah Richards Is Superb And David Silva Is Everywhere

It’s early days in the Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, but there are plenty of things to talk about in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Unfortunately, those of us who like random cool things have been disappointed by the fact that City have opted to play their expected 4-5-1 with Aleksandar Kolarov on the left wing, as opposed to a 5-4-1. The goal seems to be to focus on and contain Nani, a strategy which has been moderately successful. As a result of Kolarov’s presence, Nani is doing a lot of cutting in, and sometimes Rooney will drift right to account for this. Nani has had a couple of shots off target, but that’s it for his impact. Roberto Mancini has achieved his goal in this department.

City’s best two players so far have probably been David Silva and Micah Richards, despite a bad miss by Silva early in the game after a great exchange of quick passes set him up with an open shot on goal. The Spaniard has been absolutely everywhere and has been unsurprisingly influential in his free role. Meanwhile, Richards has had multiple chances to show off his superb athletic ability, keeping or winning 50-50 balls from United players - or a pair of United players - on multiple occasions.