Paul Pogba 6, Marcus Rashford 5; Kevin De Bruyne 7: Manchester United v Manchester City player ratings

Manchester derby ends in stalemate but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delighted with his team's response

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased with Manchester United's response to crashing out of the Champions League as his players fought for a point against Manchester City in a forgettable derby stalemate.

After dreadful defending played a key role in a costly defeat at RB Leipzig that saw them slip into the Europa League, United's players showed the kind of focus and organisation that had been lacking in Germany.

They looked solid but lacked a prolonged attacking threat in a drab 0-0 draw against City at an empty Old Trafford, where the video assistant referee overturned a second-half penalty as Marcus Rashford had strayed offside before being fouled by Kyle Walker.

Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne had chances for City but they too lacked a cutting edge in a match that Solskjaer took positives from.

"Well, of course it was a big blow during the week so the way they've recovered, the way they've worked, how ready they were for the game, I was very, very pleased with it," the United boss said. "Exceptional attitude.

"Of course we had some moments where we had to defend, especially second half, there were times they really pegged us back.

"But we stuck at it, defended really well, so attitude-wise, mental recovery they've done brilliant.

"Of course I'm happy with the clean sheet, but in games like this when you have some margins to score the goal, you win. If you have it against you, you lose, so a fair result for me was the draw."