Manchester Football

A website about football in Manchester

Manchester City’s FA Cup fortunes turn on controversial free kick against Burnley

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MAN CITY 4, BURNLEY 1

Manchester City’s fortunes in their Emirates FA Cup, third-round win against Burnley turned on a controversial free kick.

City were 1-0 behind and had laboured for almost an hour before they equalised with a questionable goal.

If your allegiances were with City it was a stroke of genius, but for the Clarets it was anything but that.

Burnley were still lining up when Ilkay Gundogan took a quick kick and released Sergio Aguero who raced clear to score.

And while the Clarets were still reeling from that body blow, Aguero quickly added a second goal, his 18th of the season and a phenomenal 16 in 16 FA Cup ties for City.

Break in the sun still on for Manchester United after late goals from Jesse Lingard and Romelu Lukaku see off Derby County in FA Cup

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MAN UNITED 2, DERBY COUNTY 0

Manchester United had every incentive to beat Derby County in their Emirates FA Cup, third-round tie.

Manager Jose Mourinho later revealed their mini break to Dubai would have been cancelled had they been taken to a replay.

The Reds certainly took it to the wire as Jesse Lingard, who had a loan spell at Derby from the Reds, broke the deadlock with only six minutes left with Romelu Lukaku sealing victory at the death.

“That is why they celebrated the second goal. If it had gone to a replay we would not go to Dubai and they all wanted to go to the sun,” explained Mourinho.

Pep Guardiola hits out at chaotic festive schedule after Manchester City’s home win against Watford

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MAN CITY 3, WATFORD 1

Goodness knows what the score might have been had Manchester City not taken their foot off the accelerator early in the game against Watford at the Etihad.

City could conceivably have been 4-0 ahead inside 17 minutes – they were two up – following a whirlwind opening in which they swept aside the visitors.

It was as though City were only playing in first or second gear for the remainder of the game as there was no way back for Watford.

In the end they triumphed with goals from Raheem Sterling, Christian Kabasele’s own goal and Sergio Aguero.

Captain Pogba drives Manchester United to first league win in four games at rainswept Everton

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EVERTON 0, MANCHESTER UNITED  2

Paul Pogba put in a captain’s performance in the second half as Manchester United dug deep and fired two goals by Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard past a stubborn Everton side in their first fixture of 2018 at Goodison Park – their first Premier League win in four games.

Pogba captained United with Ashley Young suspended after accepting a FA violent conduct charge for elbowing Dusan Tadic during the Southampton game. Marcus Rashford, who Mourinho claimed was tired after the game against the Saints, was on the bench as Anthony Martial led the line for the Reds.

Everton’s eight match unbeaten run had come to an end at Bournemouth last Saturday when they lost 2-1 to a late Ryan Fraser winner but Manchester United had only won once in their last five visits to Goodison Park, a 3-0 win two seasons ago under previous Reds boss Louis Van Gaal. Wayne Rooney had played the second half in the Bournemouth game after a spell out of the side with illness.

Two of the goalscorers the last time United beat Everton at Goodison Park are now on Everton’s books – Rooney and Morgan Schneiderlin, while Ander Herrera had been out of favour recently but returned to the starting lineup as part of three changes from the side that drew 0-0 with Southampton – Marcos Rojo, Herrera, and Anthony Martial came in for suspended Young, injured Romelu Lukaku, and out-of-sorts Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Everton made seven changes.