on Sergio Aguero but Manchester United held on
for a 0-0 draw against local rivals Manchester City
at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
Just 19 seconds after being booked for a foul on
Aguero, Fellaini pushed his head into the City
striker following another clash and was shown a
straight red card by referee Martin Atkinson in the
84th minute.
United – without injured top scorer Zlatan
Ibrahimovic – had produced the sort of defensive,
pragmatic performance that is manager Jose
Mourinho's specialty, and they stayed solid for the
closing minutes to extend their unbeaten run to 24
matches – their longest such streak in a single
top-flight season.
Yet it is a result that does little to boost either
side's hopes of finishing in the top four and
securing a place in next season's Champions
League, with City remaining one point and one
position clear of fifth-placed United.
Pep Guardiola's team were the dominant force
throughout and should have taken the lead as early
as the ninth minute, but the clinical instinct that
has seen Sergio Aguero net in each of his last six
outings deserted him as he struck the upright from
close range.
Ander Herrera - joined in midfield by Michael
Carrick due to Paul Pogba's injury-enforced
absence - spurned United's best opportunity of the
match when he evaded his marker to meet a free-
kick at the back post but somehow failed to steer
his header on target.
Mourinho's side failed to maintain their counter-
attacking threat in the second half and City were
unable to unlock the stoic United defence - the loss
of David Silva to injury in Sunday's FA Cup semi-
final defeat proving influential.
Claudio Bravo, who endured a horror debut at Old
Trafford last September, was a spectator for much
of the second half and went off on a stretcher with
a left calf injury in the 79th minute - the first of a
series of dramatic closing events.
After Fellaini's dismissal, substitute Gabriel Jesus
thought he had marked his first appearance since
February 13 with a stoppage-time winner, only to
turn and see the offside flag correctly raised.
Mourinho opted for Marcus Rashford to lead the
line and left captain Wayne Rooney – the highest-
scoring player in the history of this fixture – on the
bench, with the young striker stretching the City
defence and setting up Herrera for a teasing cross
inside just two minutes, Pablo Zabaleta turning to
clear.
City had a chance to move ahead seven minutes
later but Aguero could only divert Kevin De
Bruyne's low cross onto the outside of the upright
from inside the six-yard box.
Bravo almost gifted United a goal when he
needlessly palmed Anthony Martial's deflected,
looping cross towards the penalty spot, before
recovering to block Henrikh Mkhitaryan's
subsequent driven effort.
While Bravo looked fallible at one end, David de
Gea proved impeccable at the other with a brilliant
diving save to deny Aguero's curling 25-yard strike
before getting down to his right to keep out a low
drive from Aleksandar Kolarov.
Fernandinho's impetuous tackle on Herrera
provided the main flashpoint of the first half, but
the Spain international will have gone into half-
time wondering how he failed to find the target with
a free header at the back post from Rashford's left-
wing free-kick.
City remained on top in the second half but De
Bruyne and Aguero were unable to hit the target
with efforts from outside the box before the hour
mark, United struggling to get out of their own half.
Guardiola's men continued to push and had to
replace the injured Bravo with Willy Caballero 11
minutes from time when he was forced into a rare
moment of second-half action.
Fellaini's moment of madness handed City a boost
in their quest for a late equaliser, but Jesus' tap-in
from a cross by Aguero – who volleyed wide at the
death – was correctly ruled out as the spoils were
shared.
Despite failing to open up a four-point gap on their
fifth-placed opponents, City will feel more confident
of securing a return to European football's top table
next season due to a comparatively easier run-in.
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