49 min: Matic creams a pass down the right for James to chase. James has the legs to beat Cancelo, so the City left-back shoves him over. A free kick in a dangerous position just to the right of the City box.
47 min: Cancelo goes on a storming run down the left, but can’t quite find Aguero with his low pass infield. Then De Bruyne flicks a pass down the right and nearly releases Mahrez, but Maguire is quickly across to cover.
City get the second half underway. The visitors have made one half-time change, replacing Mason Greenwood with Dan James. Greenwood apparently took a knock in the first half, though he was also fairly anonymous.
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United (agg: 3-2)
A poor Lindelof backpass nearly lets in Aguero. De Gea does enough, racing out of his box and block-tackling Aguero. The ball pings out for a goal kick. And that’s the end of the first half. City were by far the better side for the first 35 minutes, but then Nemanja Matic scored, and now we’ve got ourselves a cup tie.
45 min: Sterling has a whack after cutting in from the left. The rising shot hits Lindelof on the upper arm. Sterling wants a penalty, but the defender had no time to react, and his arm was right by his body in any case, in a natural position. The referee waves play on.
43 min: City have the ball in the net, the result of a sweet flowing move from right to left involving Bernardo, Mahrez, Aguero and De Bruyne. The latter rolls a ball infield for Sterling to slap home from six yards. But there’s to be no first goal against United for Sterling. He’s gone a split second too early, Lindelof holding his position bravely. The flag goes up correctly for offside.
Updated
41 min: Silva nearly settles their nerves, dribbling dangerously down the right, past Shaw and into the box. He rolls a pass across the face of goal. A toe-poke would do it, but Aguero is uncharacteristically on the back foot. United were opened up there.
39 min: De Bruyne rolls a pass towards Sterling on the left. The ball’s travelling at 1mph. Sterling lets it trundle slowly under his boot and out for a throw. City and their followers are suddenly a bag of nerves. They need to settle quickly.
37 min: City have been the better side. But United have held firm at the back, and now look. Suddenly the Etihad is a very nervous place. Bravo hesitates over a simple clearance and is nearly closed down by Greenwood. A collective sharp intake of breath, but the keeper clears eventually.
GOAL! Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United (Matic agg: 3-2)
Fred curls the free kick in from the left. Silva can only eyebrow a clearing header towards Matic, level with the right-hand post, just inside the box. Matic meets the dropping ball first time, and sweeps a glorious shot into the bottom right! Bravo had no chance, and this semi-final is back on!
Updated
34 min: Rodri comes sliding in on Lingard as he races down the left. He clips him, and is slightly fortunate not to go in the book. Just a free kick. From which …
33 min: City have had nine efforts to United’s zero, and 69% of possession. But look at the scoreline. United will be happy enough so far. More of this, and City may get frustrated. And then if United were to somehow nick a goal, the nerves may kick in. On the touchline, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks relaxed enough.
32 min: Otamendi, accidentally or otherwise, gave De Gea a wee nudge in the ribs there. The keeper also landed painfully on his boot when the pair fell. A sore one, but he’s a big man and is soon up and about again, fine to continue.
30 min: De Bruyne clips a pass down the inside-left channel to release Sterling, who should get a shot away upon reaching the box, but hesitates, allowing Maguire to slide in. The resulting corner ends in a free kick to United, with Otamendi and De Gea falling in a tangle. The keeper’s landed awkwardly, and looks in some pain. On comes the physio.
Updated
29 min: Fred loops it towards the far post. Matic tries to meet the high ball, but falls over under a pincer movement launched by Rodri and Cancelo. He wants a penalty but it’s shoulder to shoulder to shoulder and he’s not getting it.
28 min: Lingard drifts in from the left and pings a pass to Greenwood, who is clumped from behind by Otamendi. A free kick to the left of centre, 35 yards out. Everyone lines up on the edge of the box, waiting for Fred’s delivery.
26 min: Walker sprays a long pass down the right. Walker springs the offside trap and whips a cross towards Aguero, who is denied a close-range header by the presence of Lingard. The resulting corner comes to nought.
24 min: City are playing with the patience and confidence you’d expect from a superior team two goals to the good. Pass, pass, passity pass. Suddenly they spring forward en masse, Silva and Aguero combining before teeing up De Bruyne just to the left of the D. De Bruyne looks for the top left, but his fierce rising shot is a wee bit too high.
20 min: Some good work by Williams down the inside-left channel, as City are pushed back a little. His attempt to work a cute, crisp move with Shaw and Lingard doesn’t quite come off, but full marks for ambition.
19 min: Mahrez fires it long down the middle, but his pass is too meaty for Aguero. City are happy to mix it up. United don’t look comfortable in defence, whatever they do.
17 min: Upon taking the corner, City ping it around awhile. Eventually Sterling peels off down the left and looks like bursting clear into the box. But he runs it out of play with a heavy touch. A wry smile as he picks himself up.
16 min: Gundogan, Silva and Aguero shuttle the ball upfield at speed. Suddenly Aguero is drifting left to right, across the face of the box. He launches towards the top right. De Gea claws it out for a corner.
Updated
14 min: Fred spins out of trouble in United’s final third and suddenly there’s a lot of space to work with, City’s press beaten. First Wan-Bissaka nearly breaks clear down the right, then Williams crosses from the left, only just failing to find Martial in the middle. Some hope for United; all they need to do is beat City’s press. All they need to do!
13 min: Sterling whips in low from the left. Aguero nearly gets a toe to the cross but misses it by an inch and the ball sticks to De Gea.
12 min: United spend a little time in the City half. They don’t really go anywhere but that’s not the point of the endeavour. It’s their first prolonged period away from their own third.
10 min: VAR isn’t interested. It’s just a corner. The fact that Maguire slipped clumsily might have swayed the decision, but it’s VAR, so who knows. The corner comes to nothing.
9 min: De Bruyne crosses from the left. Under the ball, Sterling wants a penalty kick as he’s bowled over from behind by Maguire, who took him down while slipping. This is going to VAR.
8 min: Now De Gea is forced to kick a Mahrez snapshot clear. United are finding it difficult to get out of their final third. City have flooded the midfield and are all over them.
7 min: Bernardo, quarterbacking from deep on the left, floats a diagonal ball into the box. Aguero breaks clear of Shaw down the inside-right channel, guiding a header across De Gea and towards the bottom left. De Gea sticks out a strong arm to parry clear. Stunning save.
Updated
5 min: City are beginning to find their groove. Rodri has a whack from distance. It’s charged down and half cleared. City come straight back at United. De Bruyne nearly breaks through down the middle. Bernardo then overhits a pass that would have released Sterling down the left.
3 min: Wan-Bissaka launches long. The ball bounces off Martial’s chest. Poor control. Had he taken that down, he had Greenwood to his left, ready to assist in attack, with City light at the back.
2 min: All a bit frantic in the opening stages. A poor clearing header by Maguire gives De Bruyne the chance to scoop a pass down the middle with the view of releasing Aguero, but Matic reads the play well to intercept and clear United’s lines properly this time.
Here we go, then! A quick blast of Blue Moon, then United get the ball rolling in front of a full house at the Etihad. A derby-day roar. The semi-final is happening!
Here come the teams! City wear their famous sky blue shirts, United sport their legendary red. The home fans enjoy their usual pre-match singalong of Hey Jude. We’ll be off in a minute or two!
Pep talks! He looks extremely relaxed in contrast to his slightly more edgy opposite number. “We have 2-0. They have to play the game to score goals. But we are going to try to score goals and play our game.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer speaks. First on the Bruno Fernandes transfer: “We’ve agreed with the club so we can hopefully announce it very soon. That’s of course exciting.” Then last night’s attack on Ed Woodward’s house: “Everyone at the club and proper supporters were disgusted with what had happened. Fans can be passionate and opinions can be voiced in different ways. We’ve got to stick together and stay united.” And finally on tonight’s upcoming spat: “We need to score two more goals than them! We’ve done it before. We need to match our performance six weeks ago. PSG away is always a good memory. But we need a proper performance with and without the ball. We will throw loads of energy at it.”
United have also announced the impending arrival of Bruno Fernandes. This is what they’re getting for their £47m, subject to a medical.
There are two differences to the side City put out in the first leg. Joao Cancelo and Sergio Aguero come in for Benjamin Mendy and Fernandinho.
United make four swaps from the first leg. Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic and Anthony Martial come in for Daniel James, Andreas Pereira and Phil Jones, who drop to the bench, and the injured Marcus Rashford.
The teams
Manchester City: Bravo, Walker, Rodri, Otamendi, Joao Cancelo, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling.
Subs: Stones, Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, Silva, Ederson, Foden, Garcia.
Manchester United: de Gea, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, Wan Bissaka, Fred, Matic, Williams, Lingard, Greenwood, Martial.
Subs: Bailly, Jones, Mata, Andreas Pereira, Dalot, James, Romero.
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
Updated
Preamble
This may not be the greatest Manchester United side of all time, and Manchester City might look well in control of this tie. But if you believe in the spiritual – things like club DNA, that kind of stuff – this League Cup semi-final remains in the balance.
Pep Guardiola certainly thinks so: “It’s Manchester United. They can do it. They have done it.” Twice in the Champions League recently, in fact, coming back from two goals down to beat Olympiakos in 2014 under David Moyes, then repeating the trick against PSG last year with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the wheel. Say what you will about the current state of United; they’re still a club who know how to turn around a cup tie.
There’s also the weird lop-sided nature of the Manchester derby to take into account. United have won their last two matches at City’s gaff, and three of the last five. City, who by contrast regularly turn United over at Old Trafford, have won just one of their last five derbies at home. The away side has won five of the last six. There’s no point trying to rationalise any of this. It is what it is.
So while United go into tonight’s second leg 3-1 down, and their chances on the face of things look slim, they’ll retain some hope. Then again, only Tranmere Rovers have ever let a two-goal League Cup semi-final lead slip, in 1994 against Aston Villa; City have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions; and if Pep’s men turn it on like they did in the first half hour at Old Trafford, the holders will breeze their way to the final yet again.
Who will face Aston Villa in the Wembley final on March 1? City should finish the job, and are the hot bookies favourites. But in the Manchester derby, nothing’s ever certain. So good luck to the sky blues, good luck to the reds, and may the best team win. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm GMT.
Updated