Manchester United produced a brilliant comeback to beat city rivals and English Premier League (EPL) leaders Manchester City on Saturday and ensure Pep Guardiola’s side must wait to be confirmed Premier League champions.
The game of the day was at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City suffered only their second Premier League defeat of the season.
Guardiola made changes to his usual team, possibly with one eye on Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash with Liverpool, but his side still had far too much for the Red Devils in the first half.
After a cagey start, City scored twice in five minutes to take a commanding lead. Vincent Kompany headed home the opener with a goal which brought back memories of his title-winning goal in 2012.
The goal filled the hosts with confidence, and Ilkay Gundogan added a second on the half-hour mark. He turned brilliantly after being fed by Raheem Sterling before prodding a low shot past David De Gea.
However, United looked a different team after the break, and Pogba in particular was revitalised. The midfielder raced into the box and clipped a shot past Ederson for his first after 53 minutes.
He then brought United level less than two minutes later with a header from a superb Alexis Sanchez pass.
Smalling then completed the comeback with a cushioned finish from another Sanchez delivery to ensure City must wait for the title.
Premier League Results
Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Bournemouth 2-2 Crystal Palace
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Huddersfield Town
Leicester City 1-2 Newcastle United
Stoke City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Watford 1-2 Burnley
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Swansea City
Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United
Review of other Premier League Games
In the first game of the day, Everton and Liverpool had to settle for a point apiece in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Liverpool made five changes to their team in the wake of their draining 3-0 victory over City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday. Roberto Firmino was left on the bench, and leading scorer Mohamed Salah did not recover in time after picking up an injury against City.
The match itself was something of a disappointment, although both goalkeepers emerged with credit.
Everton’s Jordan Pickford saved well from Dominic Solanke and James Milner, and he may have impressed England manager Gareth Southgate, who was watching in the stands.
However, Liverpool’s Loris Karius also drew plaudits after he tipped a curling shot from Yannick Bolasie around the post.
It was a frustrating afternoon all around and particularly for Wayne Rooney, who was substituted after 57 minutes. He looked furious as he came off and appeared to snub a handshake from his manager, Sam Allardyce.
Everton could have won it late on, but substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin mis-hit a shot horribly from close range.
The Toffees have now gone 17 Merseyside derbies without a victory over their local rivals, while Liverpool were able to rest key players and maintain momentum ahead of their crucial trip to Manchester City.
Tottenham took advantage of Liverpool’s draw by beating Stoke City 2-1 to move level on points with the Reds.
Dele Alli set up Christian Eriksen for Spurs’ first goal, although Stoke hit back through Mame Biram Diouf after a mistake by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Squawka Football showed how the Frenchman is racking up the errors:
However, Spurs responded well, and Eriksen’s free-kick appeared to go in off Harry Kane to make it 2-1, but Eriksen has been officially awarded the goal. Simon Stone at the BBC neatly summed up the incident:
Xherdan Shaqiri hit the bar late on for Stoke with a free-kick in a brave performance from the Potters. However, they could not salvage a point and remain in deep trouble with just five games left to play.
Additional Reports by Bleacherreport
