Five Things Learned: Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United (Premier League) | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City turned the city blue once again as they dismantled Ruben Amorim’s side in the 197th Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Prior to kick-off, the Etihad rose in applause as those in attendance commemorated boxing legend and lifelong Manchester City fan Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton with a touching tribute following his tragic passing. That derby day win was for Ricky. Once a blue, always a blue.

In the early stages of the contest, the home side struggled to get to grips with the game, unable to keep hold of possession or dictate tempo as we so often see. Aside from an early chance where Erling Haaland nearly broke the deadlock after just 20 seconds, City didn’t look calm, as a lot of passes went astray.

That all changed, however, when a player who has definitely struggled in recent times got the home side off the mark in the 18th minute following some sublime work by Jérémy Doku to glide past the Manchester United back line and squeeze a cross into the box for an unmarked Phil Foden to head home.

City came out firing for the second-half, taking just eight minutes to double their lead through, you guessed it, Erling Haaland. As Foden and Doku combined well, with the latter turning provider showing excellent strength to hold off Leny Yoro, a perfectly weighted ball was slotted through for City’s No.9 to chip delicately first time over Altay Bayındır.

Shortly after, United so nearly found a lifeline with just over an hour gone as Bryan Mbuemo struck a brilliant volley which looked destined for the far corner, but Gianluigi Donnarumma had other ideas. The Italian used every inch of his huge frame to stretch across the goal and push it around the post – an outstanding save by City’s new shot-stopper to extinguish any hope of a response.

Then, with just less than 70 minutes gone, the result was put beyond all reasonable doubt as catastrophe struck at the back for the visitors. The ball was given away to Bernardo Silva following a failed clearance, allowing him to slot through Erling Haaland, who had acres of space unchallenged as he calmly ran through and slotted home.

Manchester United tried to conjure a response late on and had some positivity in the final third, but City barred the door. The effort from Ruben Amorim’s side was too little too late; with the game all but over, Manchester was officially blue.

Here are Five Things We Learned from a derby day domination over Manchester United!

Erling Haaland on derby day: Inevitable

Exceptional, and not just because of his two well-taken goals but through tireless work in all areas, whether that be relentless pressing, top-quality link-up with those around him, or even defensive work and dealing with set pieces. The Norwegian was hungrier than ever, and it was clear just how desperate he was for that victory.

Excluding a rather astonishing miss, which was thankfully trivial come the final whistle largely thanks to a brace scored by Haaland himself, it is very hard to find any fault in his performance. This was a complete showing in all situations as the Norwegian excelled in yet another Manchester Derby.

11 goal contributions against Manchester United since he joined the club in 2022 – more than he has against any other club. It is clear that for Erling Haaland beating United means as much to him as it does to the fans.

The Phil Foden we remember!

Having faced a barrage of criticism in the media for the last 12 months – perhaps somewhat justified given the extent of his drop-off from his PFA Player of the Year campaign – Phil Foden was given a chance to shine and show Pep Guardiola, the fans and those in the media that class is most definitely permanent.

The performance on Sunday was night and day from last campaign, where everything looked rigid and strenuous. He looked much more like his old self; everything seemed to come easily, and the football was a lot more free-flowing from the boyhood blue, who seemed to be enjoying himself out on the pitch for the first time in a while.

Operating in a deeper number eight role while Bernardo Silva was off the right allowed him to drop deeper or push higher depending on where it was best for him to operate, Foden was given licence to roam and get a lot of the ball to try and knit play together. His runs were dangerous, link-up play excelled, and of course, his goal was very well taken.

Phil Foden was everywhere against Manchester United, in what was one of the best performances we have seen from him in the last year or so, and if that is a sign of what’s to come with the No.47, that can only mean positive things for City.

Jérémy Doku is thriving!

When the Belgian first arrived, there were huge question marks around his end product, with the lack of numbers in terms of goal contributions and poor decision-making in the final third posing to be a problem. This, however, has improved massively in recent months.

Doku was his same dynamic and chaos-causing self, with his pace and quick feet proving too much to handle for the Manchester United back line. The difference this time out was what the No.11 did with the ball in those positions, registering two great assists.

The attacking output and decision-making in the final third that people have been crying out for was on show in one of the biggest games of the lot. Once again, one of the best performances in a while, this time from Jérémy Doku.

Doku has always been a talented player and can build on this and improve his output in the final third, adding numbers to his game as well as sharper decision-making. It will be exciting times for Pep Guardiola and City, and it will certainly be hard for others to displace him.

Donnarumma, Khusanov and defensive solidity

Starting off with City’s new No.25, the Italian showed exactly why City secured his signature despite hyperbolised scrutiny over issues with his footwork. With all respect to Ederson, City simply conceded too many goals last season, and the former PSG man was brought in to stop this, and he proved how he would do so just by his debut alone.

He looked assured and comfortable when given the ball, was a huge presence in the penalty area, showing great command of his area, and of course produced that one phenomenal save to deny Bryan Mbeumo and keep a clean sheet. About as good as a debut gets for a goalkeeper.

Moving on to the right side of defence and Abdukodir Khusanov, who might have just offered Pep Guardiola his right-back solution. His pace and power were a perfect combination to deal with United’s left side and halt any opportunities for a counter-attack.

He was strong and composed in the tackle, as opposed to some slight erratic actions in previous games. The Uzbek was brilliant, and if he can continue in this form, he should without a doubt hold down his place on the team sheet.

That performance defensively was a major positive for City. Granted, their opposition didn’t offer much in the way of attacking threat, but success in defensive resilience in such a big game is reassuring given the issues of late, and a clean sheet going into huge games against Napoli and Arsenal.

Manchester is BLUE

Manchester City emerge victorious in the 197th Manchester derby, and after failing to secure league victory against them last year, reclaim their pedestal as the pride of the city once again, slamming Manchester United by three goals to nil.

After that demoralising defeat to Brighton, and just because of how big of a game the Manchester derby is for all involved, that was exactly the response that was required to restore the optimism for this season ahead among the players, staff and the fans. Derby day will always be one of the biggest days in the footballing calendar, and victory is enough to bring joy and hope back to everyone at the club.

Despite a poor start to the season, that was an incredibly positive result, so we can now hope this victory over fierce rivals will be enough for City to kick on and continue if they wish to contend for the league title come May.