The counter-attack strategy adopted by Man United seems to have defeated Man City. By lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and changing to a 4-5-1 formation while defending (without the ball), this formation managed to withstand the incessant attacks launched by Man City.
The fast counter-attack that Man United has often played lately (as against Sociedad) finally led to the second goal for Man United in the 49th minute. Starting from a free-kick that was obtained by Man City, the ball was caught by Dean Henderson then the ball was thrown to Luke Shaw. From the left, Luke Shaw dribbled forward quickly and the neat collaboration between Luke Shaw and Rashford in the Man City penalty area successfully created the 2nd goal for Man United.