United 0 Manchester City 0

A lightning-quick start to the Premier League contest saw Alejandro Garnacho inches away from winning United a penalty in first couple of minutes of the match – referee John Brooks awarding a free-kick on the edge of the box instead – but that early drama was not to foreshadow a half which saw neither goalkeeper truly tested.

The game gained a little more energy after the interval but, aside from a couple of half-chances at either end, both sides never looked really looked likely to break the deadlock.

It was Ruben Amorim's first Manchester derby at Old Trafford and the Reds earned a point, but it was a contest unlikely to live long in the memory.

FIRST HALF – SEARCHING FOR A SPARK

The Reds wasted no time in imposing ourselves on the City backline, with Garnacho drawing a foul so close to the edge of the opposition box in the second minute that many thought a penalty had been awarded.

Bruno Fernandes couldn’t direct that close-quarters set-piece anywhere other than the wall, but it was an early warning shot.

Despite that rapid start, the game settled into a much calmer pattern for the first portion of the opening half, with neither goalkeeper tested until the first shot on target courtesy of a tame effort from Kevin De Bruyne – who announced earlier this week he is to depart our crosstown rivals at the end of the season.

Moments after that, the ball was at the other end of the pitch as Diogo Dalot lifted an inch-perfect cross to the head of Garnacho but, perhaps seeing it late, the Argentina international couldn’t direct it towards goal.

The 20-year-old – clearly United’s most influential player in the game to that point – was involved again a few minutes later, squaring the ball to Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu in the penalty area, but the Dane didn’t have time to sort out his feet for the shot.

United were beginning to turn the screw slightly, putting together a nice passing move of the variety we saw against Nottingham Forest earlier in the week, showing that Ruben Amorim’s men have plenty more in their attacking arsenal than electric runs in behind.

But, despite Fernandes dictating such passages from the centre, as he so often does for the Reds, Amorim's men were struggling to turn those spells of possession into the sort of chances that might trouble Ederson.

City had seen more of the ball; United more of the chances – but overall, it had been a fairly tepid start this instalment of the Manchester derby.

SECOND HALF – STALEMATE IN M16

Just as the Reds had kicked off the game rapidly in first few minutes, it was City who this time asked a big question in the early moments of this half; a Phil Foden one-on-one that required a last-ditch, perfectly-timed challenge from Noussair Mazraoui to avert the danger and avoid giving a penalty away, as the England man stumbled.

There was a little more bite to the game following the break, but hour mark came and went without a goal or substantial save made in the game.

A penalty shout kicked Old Trafford into life not long after, but replays showed the cross Dorgu fizzed in had collided with Dias’s chest as the centre-back slipped to the ground.

At the other end, with the sun in his eyes, Andre Onana did well to deny two powerful Omar Marmoush efforts within a few minutes of each other – the first a free-kick and the latter from open play – to keep our clean sheet intact.

Opposition defender Nico O’Reilly looked certain to poke in the rebound from the second attempt, but he couldn’t get the ball under his spell before being ruled offside in any case.

Joshua Zirkzee replaced Rasmus Hojlund for the final 20 minutes of the game and immediately set about harassing City's defenders, provoking the roar of Old Trafford down by the tunnel after one passage of pressing. He almost gave them a good deal more to cheer about, not long after, hitting a Garnacho cross first time that almost caught Ederson by surprise, but the Brazilian managed to palm it away.

The Dutchman looked most likely to create something in the latter stages of the game, linking play well and getting in the mix to look to finish moves on multiple occasions.

But, in truth, from the early moments in the game, this looked like a meeting destined for stalemate.

MATCH DETAILS

United: Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire (Lindelof 58), Yoro; Dalot, Ugarte (Mount 71), Casemiro, Dorgu; Garnacho, Fernandes (c); Hojlund (Zirkzee 71).

Subs not used: Bayindir, Amass, Kukonki, Shaw, Eriksen, Obi.

Booked: Dalot, Mount, Yoro.

City: Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly (Lewis 74); Gundogan (Grealish 74), Kovacic; Foden (Doku 58), De Bruyne, Bernardo; Marmoush.

Subs not used: Ortega, Khusanov, Reis, Gonzalez, McAtee, Savinho.

Booked: Dias, Bernardo.