Manchester United v City, the League Cup and the battle of a banner

The old rivals go head-to-head again on Wednesday and manager Solskjaer will be hoping for a repeat of a famous Red Devils semi-final victory in 2010

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea, 8 - Saved from McGinn in the first half as well as a superb stop from Watkins. No chance for Villa’s equaliser. Kept on his toes all night and was up to challenge, including after 93 minutes from Cash. EPA

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 7 - Effective work on right, including for the goal as he crossed for Martial after he overlapped. Doesn’t do this enough and that was his first assist of the season. At fault for free kick before Villa equaliser, but one of his best performances of the season. EPA

Eric Bailly, 8 - First time starting four in a row in nearly four years and another decent performance against a physically strong Villa team with the third best away record in the league. Booked for a silly challenge, but vital late block as United held on. EPA

Harry Maguire, 7 - Solid. Booked bringing down Grealish and kept busy against the threats from Mings, Watkins et al. Tough night for him, but ready to intercept and tackle, even when near halfway line towards end. AP

Luke Shaw, 8 - Missed header which allowed first serious Villa attack. Continued to drive forward and get in behind Villa defenders, especially towards the end, but had to be careful with Matty Cash crossing. Reuters

Fred, 7 - Lively start and set up after Pogba left ball to shoot over after 16. Energy vital for United, his recoveries too. Faded a little in second half. AP

Scott McTominay, 6 - Job to mark Grealish and not at the same level as he was in his previous game at Old Trafford against Leeds. First player to come off. Getty

Paul Pogba, 8 - Could have shot after 16 minutes but left ball for Fred. Heavily involved in United’s attacking play including the opening goal, with delightful passes, hold up play and key forward passes – despite being battered by Mings’ arm. Won penalty. Fitter, faster, more productive. Reuters

Bruno Fernandes, 7 - Shot wide after being set up by Shaw early on. Scored another penalty – the match winner – to keep up reliable spot kick record. Incredible strike forced save after 76 minutes. Not happy to come off. Reuters

Marcus Rashford, 7 - Ran at defenders and pushed for a second which didn’t come from him. Can frustrate fans as he dips in and out of games, but opponents hate playing against him and he’s always a threat. EPA

Anthony Martial, 7 - First shot on target in sharp start. Bravely headed second league goal of season before half time – a key goal – and his first from open play of the season. If United are to be genuine title contenders, Martial needs to improve. Reuters

SUBS: Nemanja Matic, 6 - On for Scott McTominay after 64 minutes and took down Villa’s danger, Jack Grealish. Reuters

Daniel James, N/A - On for Fernandes after 86 minutes to stem the threat from Matty Cash and give energy. Axel Tuanzebe, N/A - On for Fred against his former club. EPA

ASTON VILLA RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez, 7 - Could not make it five clean sheets in his last six appearances for Aston Villa when he guessed wrong prior to Anthony Martial’s close range first-half header. Little he could have done about Fernandes’ superbly taken penalty when United quickly re-established their lead. Otherwise made a handful of eye-catching saves to restrict the hosts to two. EPA

Matty Cash, 7 - Villa struggled to settle into the game initially, but when they did eventually spark into life it was largely thanks to the strong positional play of players down the right. Cash was no exception, executing a number of fine overlapping runs and delivering pin accurate crosses that went without reward. Getty

Ezri Konsa, 6 - There is an argument that Konsa was too busy watching Martial’s movement rather than the ball in the build up to United’s first goal – it led to the home striker finding the appropriate space to open the scoring with a well-placed header. Passed the ball around the back four well. Not a poor performance but will enjoy better games. EPA

Tyrone Mings, 6 - Great commitment by putting his body on the line more than once to block United’s attempts to open the scoring. Mings was, however, at fault when he couldn’t quite reach Wan Bissaka’s low cross from the left that was deflected in by Martial. AP

Matt Targett, 6 - Nowhere to be seen when Wan-Bissaka was allowed to sprint down the right wing before delivering a cross to Martial that was expertly converted. Improved in the second half which prompted United to focus the attention of their attacking play down the left, but he will ultimately be disappointed by his performance in the build up to the hosts’ first goal. AP

John McGinn, 7 - A typically busy game for the Scot whose efforts warranted a point to add to Villa fans’ hopes of a European football return next season. Made a nuisance of himself amid his forward runs and was unfortunate not to score a first goal in 18 appearances when a well-timed volley was batted away by De Gea. AFP

Douglas Luiz, 6 - Unfortunate to concede a soft penalty shortly after Traore equalised at the start of the second half. That one incident should not shadow a reasonably solid performance, though. Was consistent with his passing and ensured the receiver was well-placed to take play forward – sparking opportunities for the visitors. AFP

Bertrand Traore, 8 - A woeful free kick from a dangerous position just outside United’s penalty area was forgotten momentarily by Villa boss Dean Smith when Traore superbly controlled Grealish’s’ inviting cross to equalise shortly into the second half. Strong play positionally and always proved a nuisance when cutting inside from the right. AP

Jack Grealish, 7 - Against a club that has made no secret of their admiration for him, Grealish delivered a typical all-action performance epitomised when he provided Traore with an inswinging cross from the left to bring Villa level early in the second half. Created good space for himself and those around him. EPA

Anwar El Ghazi, 6 - Squandered the opportunity to become the first Aston Villa player to score in four successive Premier League fixtures in eight years. El Ghazi had his moments with his best chance occurring in the 71st minute when Traore’s determination paved the way for the versatile midfielder to test De Gea from 18 yards. EPA

Ollie Watkins, 6 - Watkins’ run of games without a goal stretched to eight. Best opportunity to find the net was well saved by De Gea when a goal-bound header was superbly tipped over. AP

SUBS: Jacob Ramsey, N/A - Came on for goalscorer Traore in the closing 10 minutes. Couldn’t make the impact required as Villa left Old Trafford empty handed. EPA

Keenan Davis, N/A - Made a quick impact when heading Cash’s fine cross just wide of De Gea’s far post. Reuters

It was the night before second leg of the 2010 League Cup semi-final. The crew from an officially sanctioned Manchester City feature Blue Moon Rising filmed several United fans in a cafe by Old Trafford. They had requested to film inside the stadium but were turned down when the subject matter became clear.

City had won the first leg 2-1 with two goals from former United player Carlos Tevez. The filmmakers focused on the banner which the group had hung from the upper tier of the Stretford End stand.

An odometer, the tally increased every year which Manchester City did not win a trophy. By 2010, it was despised by City fans and perceived as a symbol of United’s sneering arrogance towards their neighbours.

Manager Roberto Mancini vowed to put an end to the banner by winning a trophy and his team were placed to reach the final after overcoming United.

The filmmakers wanted to know how the group would take the banner down and if it would be possible to record it. The assumption was that it would be very soon and a perfect ending to the movie, due to be released later that year.

The following night, Manchester United won 3-1 with a late goal from Wayne Rooney giving them the aggregate victory. Apart from 9,000 City fans, Old Trafford erupted in one of the best atmospheres of the last decade.

The banner stayed up, the film had a different conclusion than planned. United fans were soon singing ‘35 Years’ to remind City how long it had been since their last trophy.

The banner would come down the following year when City won the FA Cup after knocking United out en-route. City have won plenty of trophies since – even more than United.

Such a scenario could not have been envisaged when the banner started out saying ‘17 YEARS’ and was passed around United fans at a European Cup game in Budapest in 1993. Five of those trophies have been in the last seven years in the League Cup.

City have another chance to reach the final of a competition they have dominated on Wednesday in a one-leg game at Old Trafford.

The Blues prevailed last season at the same stage over two legs, doing their damage in the first half of the first tie when they went 3-0 up.

They showed they can still do that to their rivals by overwhelming Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but United are much improved and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record is not a bad one against City. Of the six derbies since he took over, United have won three, drawn one and lost two – including the one which led to that semi-final elimination a year ago.

Aside from the results in those derbies, United's performances have also improved, though they started with United counter attacking with limited possession. Those attacks were clinical in the 2019 away win at the Etihad, a moment Solskjaer described as his finest as United manager. But in the turgid 0-0 draw last month, United were up to 47 per cent possession. These are small mercies, but few teams have so much possession against Pep Guardiola's sides.

Manchester City fans celebrate with their own banner after beating Stoke City to win the FA Cup in 2011 - their first major trophy in 35 years. Getty

"I've seen progress," Solskjaer told The National. "Sometimes the results don't show the whole picture of the game. Some of our counter attacking goals in the wins that we've had have been brilliant.

"Away in the league when we won [December ’19], we could have scored four or five in a 10-15 minute period. Some of the counter attacks were out of this world, but we’ve had less control of the ball. We defended fantastically.

“The last game [last month] was more or less 50/50 in possession. It was a maybe a more cagey game from both teams but still I felt that was a progression staying more in the game."

He is well aware of what City can throw at their opponents. “You never know what type of system he [Pep Guardiola] is going to try and come up with but you know you have to defend really well against Man City no matter what.

"It’s hard to keep the ball in their half when they’ve got it because they’ll find a way of overloading. You have to be brave, be compact, trust your players. Then again, when we have the ball we have to keep it and play out of their press because they’re one of the quickest teams to put the counter pressure on and they want to win the ball high up.

"It’s a balance that we found but we didn’t have the X-factor in the last game. Maybe they were a little more cagier and set up to counter attack.”

United, he observes, have not quite got there yet. “There have been some fascinating games and I feel we have got closer and closer but results sometime you can’t control.”

Both Manchester teams have improved recently. City concede fewer goals and defend better than last year, but they had found scoring more of a challenge until they put four past Arsenal away in the last round. United impressed beating Everton away two weeks go at the same stage.

When Blue Moon Rising was released in September 2010, the film makers did invite the United fans who appeared in it with the banner to a 'blue carpet premiere'. Strangely enough, they did not attend.

There will be no similar odometer banner appearing at Old Trafford for some time yet, if ever, but United fans will be hoping they can once again spoil a happy ending for their derby rivals.