Man United Staged A Dramatic Late Turnaround To Beat Rivals Man City In The Manchester Derby at Old Trafford.

Manchester United pulled a sensational comeback to turn it around in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

In one of the most dramatic Manchester derbies in recent times, the cagey first half ended goalless, as United's failure to capitalise on a number of first-half chances looked to have cost them dearly.

Jack Grealish who was introduced in the second-half, scored the opener in the 60th minute from a Kevin de Bruyne's cross down the right, and looked to have set champions City on course for another Premier League win against their strong neighboring rivals.

You may recall that United had left Etihad Stadium in early October chastened and bruised after a 6-3 thrashing, but Ten Hag insisted lessons had been learned.

City's lead was short-lived as the Red Devils, responded to claim a hotly-contested equaliser through Bruno Fernandes curling shot past an approaching City's keeper Ederson from 20 yards in the 78th minute, despite the presence of Marcus Rashford in an offside position.

The offside flag was raised by the linesman amid the goal, but referee Stuart Attwell after consulting VAR, overruled his assistant because Rashford, who seems to chase a Casemiro's pass while appearing next to his teammate, did not actually touch the ball, nor interfere with any of Man City's defender.

In regard to offside, IFAB Laws of the Game state: 'A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by: interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate.'

City reacted furiously to the decision to award the goal, and failed to regroup after play restarted, allowing Rashford to poke home a winner from substitute Alejandro Garnacho cross eight minutes from time.

The result means United move just one point behind City. As for Pep Guardiola's side, failed to close the gap on leaders Arsenal, and remain five points behind the Gunners.

Mikel Arteta's men could extend their lead at the top to eight points having an extra game in hand. However, that clash is against fellow North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

This was City's second straight loss following a shock Carabao Cup quarter-final 2-0 defeat at Southampton in midweek and they now face a battle to avoid finishing below United in the league for the first time since 2013.

Despite a dreadful start to the season that saw them lose at home to Brighton before being overwhelmed at Brentford, United are now said to be in the title race.

They look solid in the top four, with just one point ahead of second place City, and may even be casting a glance at leaders Arsenal, who are six points ahead of them.

Erik ten Hag's men next take on Crystal Palace on Wednesday before facing league leaders Arsenal on Sunday January 22 at the Emirates Stadium.

Bruno Fernandes who scored the controversial equaliser explained after the game why his goal against Man City stood despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position;

"Because I was facing the goal and Marcus probably saw I was in a better position. I didn’t know if any of us were in an offside position or not but it doesn’t have any influence because there was no one closer to him... He told BT Sport.

"It doesn’t make any influence on the team that has to defend, it is what it is, it’s a goal and at the end of the day and we are relieved for that."

United manager, Erik ten Hag also reacted on the win, and says it is too early to talk about a title challenge.

"We've improved, that's obvious. A lot of aspects in our game we have to improve but we're progressing, that's quite obvious.... He said.

"After half time we didn't come out well, we should have had the lead in the gane, but City changed something to give us problems, and we struggled, and tried to get back in control.

"This team is progressing [in how they] deal with setbacks, suffering, painful moments and keep going after a goal against. We are much better able to deal with situations compared to a couple of months ago.

"The fans may dream of the title but they shouldn't do that, we are not even half way through the season. it’s only January.

“There is a lot to come, a lot of gaps in our game we have to work on,” Ten Hag told reporters.