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City trail Liverpool by 14 points as United hold on to secure derby victory

Matthew Peters / Manchester United / Getty

It's safe to assume that a good portion of Liverpool was backing bitter rivals Manchester United heading into Saturday's derby against Manchester City.

And Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men didn't disappoint, as United delivered a massive blow to City's title hopes after securing a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

The defeat leaves third-place City 14 points back of league-leading Liverpool after 16 games - Leicester City also have a three-point edge over Pep Guardiola's team.

City didn't have an answer to Manchester United's blistering counterattack, which helped the visitors dominate early before heading into the break with a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

After a VAR review, Rashford was adjudged to have been fouled in the City penalty area before converting to put United up 1-0 after 23 minutes.

Martial then doubled United's lead six minutes later when his strike from inside the box beat Ederson at the near post to help the Red Devils become the first team since November 2015 to enjoy a 2-0 lead over City before the half-hour mark at the Etihad.

City made a late charge when Nicolas Otamendi scored to cut United's lead in half with five minutes to play, but the deficit ultimately proved to be too much for the hosts to overcome.

It was United's first victory against their city rivals at the Etihad since their 3-2 triumph in April 2017, which prevented the Citizens from clinching the Premier League title.

The victory helped Manchester United maintain their fifth-place position above Tottenham Hotspur.

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