- Manchester City beat Manchester United 3-0 to continue with their dominance in the Manchester derby in recent years
- Opta say United has a 11% chance of being relegated this season and a 7.3% chance of finishing in the top five
On Sunday, Manchester City beat Manchester United 3-0 to continue with their dominance in the Manchester derby in recent years. Erling Haaland starred in the derby, scoring two goals in the second half to add to Phil Foden’s opener in the first half.
The victory saw City bounce back in styles after suffering back-to-back defeats in the English Premier League before the international break. The Cityzens are currently eighth on the Premier League standings with six points after four matches. Meanwhile, United find themselves fourteenth with four points. Opta say United has a 11% chance of being relegated this season and a 7.3% chance of finishing in the top five.
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Manchester City Vs Manchester United
The pre-match debate ahead of the Manchester derby centered on the goalkeeping decisions made by both clubs this summer. City released Ederson and signed former Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a few hours left before the transfer window closed. Meanwhile, United weighed between Aston Villa’s World Cup winning goalie Emiliano Martinez and Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens before making the decision to sign the latter on transfer deadline day.
Whereas Pep Guardiola gave Donnarumma the chance to showcase his talent in the first Manchester derby of the season, Ruben Amorim preferred to start the game with error-prone Altay Bayindir. Even though Bayindir did not make any costly error in the derby, he also did not make a confidence-boosting save for the Red Devils.
Manchester City started the game on a high note and almost found the back of the net within the opening 20 seconds, but Erling Haaland’s effort went just wide. United also came close to scoring on the other end but Donnarumma did well to deny Benjamin Sesko.
The game remained tied until the 18th minute, when Jeremy Doku displayed his brilliance by gliding past Luke Shaw before crossing the ball to Phil Foden, who gave City a 1-0 lead. Pep Guardiola’s side then came knocking in search of a second goal but Bayindir showed his goalkeeping prowess to deny Tijjani Reijnders from close range.
Manchester United started the second half brilliantly but failed to capitalize on their chances and found themselves trailing 2-0 when Haaland scored his first of the evening. The Norwegian, who scored five goals on international duty last week, almost increased City’s lead moments later after rounding Bayindir but his effort hit the post.
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Manchester United’s biggest chance of the derby fell on Bryan Mbeumo who struck a volley that was kept out of the net by Donnarumma. The visitors were pressing high in search of a goal when Harry Maguire’s poor pass was intercepted by Bernardo Silva who set Haaland on goal. As you would expect, the 25-year-old calmly slotted the ball past Bayindir to make the score 3-0. There was still time for Reijnders to score City’s fourth goal of the evening but he clipped the ball wide of the far post.
Speaking after his side’s stunning victory, City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Haaland, who he believes is the best striker in the world.
“Erling has been incredible since the start but this season he is better than ever. I would say better than the Treble year. He is dynamic and I don’t judge him for the clearances, we want him to score goals and to help us. Erling has never disappointed since he has arrived. He has shown the commitment and signed a contract for many years. He is a special player.”
