Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has beaten Manchester City three times this season, once in the Carabao Cup at the Etihad and then twice in the Premier League

Before Solskjaer's league double over Pep Guardiola, only two other managers had been successful in that category. Solskjaer now joins Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte to complete league doubles over the Spanish manager.  

How has he done it? 

Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City 

Similarly to the Carabao Cup fixture, United took the lead early on through Anthony Martial's first-time strike. He beat Ederson at his near post for the second time this season. This was Bruno Fernandes' first Manchester derby since signing for the club in January. The Portuguese midfielder provided Martial with an exquisite pass from the set-piece and the Frenchman did the rest. 

Fernandes gave United a different attacking threat compared to other victories against City this season. The wingers were used but not as much as at the Etihad in December. Fernandes impact has been impossible to miss. Since his arrival, he has been involved in a league goal every 96 minutes.

Manchester City 1-2 Manchester United

The reoccurring theme in this fixture was the width and counter-attacking style of play. For the first United goal in this match, it took just under 10 seconds for Fred to release the ball from his own half to Jesse Lingard who then found Marcus Rashford down the left-wing. Rashford was then brought down in the box and VAR awarded him a penalty and he made it 1-0. 

To double United's lead it was the linkup play between Daniel James and Martial which was vitalThis time the play came from the right-wing. Martial played a one-two with James and then his snapshot beat Ederson at his near post. Solsjkaer recognised Angelino could not handle James. In the second-half, United kept releasing the pressure for James to attack Angelino in the left-back position. 

Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United

This was the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final fixture. United were 3-1 down from the tie at Old Trafford and City could have put the tie to bed in the opening 15 minutes. United had their backs against the wall. With no Bruno yet, and Rashford still injured, United were relying heavily on Martial. But it was Nemanja Matic who gave United hope early in the first half with a stunning strike to this time beat Claudio Bravo at the near post. 

City had the ball in the back of the net twice but were both correctly ruled offside. United lost Matic in the latter stages of the match after two yellow cards. The game was stretched as United looked to find the tie equaliser but the Red Devils ultimately lost on aggregate.

These recent results have put United back on incredible form. This form has not been seen since Solskjaer's first 11 matches in charge of the club when he was interim-manager.

So what can we say about all these fixtures?

We can say that to beat City all you have to do is shoot at the near post but in reality, that's just a minor detail. 

Solskjaer said after Sunday's victory that it is his players who have beat City three times this season and not him. He is correct, they played the match but he had a major role. 

The introduction of Bruno allowed Solskjaer to not rely on counter-attacks in the most recent fixture but the Norweigan manager has proved he can beat the 'noisy neighbours' by playing more than one style of football.