Result: Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City
Date: 07 January 2020
Venue: Old Trafford
Manchester City edged closer to securing a spot in the Carabao Cup final after defeating cross-town rivals Manchester United 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday evening.
The Red Devils were without Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire through injury, while City coach Pep Guardiola opted to leave Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus on the bench.
One of City's returning stars Bernardo Silva got the game's opening goal after 17 minutes as the Portuguese found the top corner with a superb strike from distance.
The second goal arrived after 34 minutes as Silva turned provider to pick out Riyad Mahrez, who rounded David de Gea to slot into an empty net.
Seven minutes later, The Citizens got a third goal when Andreas Pereira deflected the ball into his own net after De Gea had saved Kevin de Bruyne's initial effort.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted for a change at the start of the second half, with the in-effect Jesse Lingard making way for Nemanja Matic.
United managed to pull a goal back in the 70th minute as Mason Greenwood picked up possession and played in Marcus Rashford who calmly slotted into the bottom corner.
The Citizens were then forced into a change 10 minutes later when the influential De Bruyne was forced after a collision with Victor Lindelof. He was replaced by Jesus for the latter stages.
In the end, the Red Devils were unable to bag another goal late on but Rashford's goal has given United a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg in two week's time.
