Manchester United ground out an ugly but important 1-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford last night, with their two maligned centre backs both putting in solid performances against Pep Guardiola’s expensively assembled attacking unit.
Blind had a nightmare game against City in the league but was much improved tonight, doing his defensive duties well and using his exceptional technical ability to push forward and help his side control the game even as they dropped deeper and deeper in the face of City’s pressure.
Rojo has also had some awful games in red, and many United fans were fearful of the results of his clash with Sergio Aguero. Fortunately Aguero didn’t play once again, and Rojo dealt with his replacement Kelechi Iheanacho well.
Jose Mourinho faces a difficult period now with Eric Bailly out injured. The Portuguese will have been relieved to see a confident performance from two of the men he will be relying on to replace the Ivorian tonight.