Haaland and Foden inspire Man City signs of old in demolition derby | OneFootball

It was Manchester City, but not as we knew them. Or so the theory went, anyway. But for Manchester United, it was just the City they remembered. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, they had been destroyed in a derby in which both Phil Foden and Erling Haaland scored. So, too, in 2025: there can be evidence of City’s decline in other games, in a league table that showed them in 16th at kick-off, but not in their latest demolition derby.

For United, history repeated itself. Second best in Manchester again, they were cut apart. For Ruben Amorim, there was a first glimpse of thousands of City fans turning their backs on the game to do the Poznan. If he could not see some of the United supporters, it was because the away end was emptying long before the final whistle. United conjured a late victory at the Etihad a month into Amorim’s reign. There was never a danger of a repeat.

Instead, there was the familiar sound of Amorim insisting he will not alter a system that isn’t working. “I am not going to change,” he declared. “When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man,” said a manager with a mere 31 points from 31 games in charge. “It is not a record you should have in Manchester United,” Amorim admitted.

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Ruben Amorim faces more questions after another poor result (Getty Images)

His best result came at the Etihad: but in December, not now. In the rematch, United were overpowered by Haaland, the symbolic moments when Luke Shaw was brushed aside for the Norwegian’s first goal and Harry Maguire outpaced for the second signs they could not live with the giant. Having pronounced City’s start to the season not good enough, Haaland set about rectifying it. He unleashed his first shot after 18 seconds. He made a series of clearances from his own box. He had quite an impact in the United penalty area, too.

“Erling never disappointed us,” said Guardiola. “He is a special player.” After a summer when United spent £200m on new forwards, Guardiola had declared that Haaland is the world’s best striker. His No 9 offered more evidence for the argument.

He finished off a United side sorely in need of a such a clinical instinct. “Two games, seven goals is not bad,” deadpanned Guardiola. After five goals against Moldova, Haaland’s brace made this all over. Perhaps those knockout blows constituted a fitting tribute to the late City fan, Ricky Hatton.

It was about another local, too. This had been billed as a Manchester derby without a Mancunian. Instead, one scored, Foden on his first start of the season. He headed in Jeremy Doku’s second attempt at a cross, with the winger creating the chance with a shimmy into the box. Foden had ghosted into space; United often struggle to track runners from midfield. “He loves to arrive at the box,” said Guardiola. “It's a guy who makes a pass and goes to a penalty spot like an animal. He played incredible. We miss him so much last season. We cannot forget that, two seasons ago, he was the best player in the Premier League.”

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Erling Haaland destroyed Man United (Getty Images)

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And Phil Foden helped the cause (PA Wire)

This was Foden’s seventh goal in Manchester derbies. Haaland first equalled and then surpassed him, with a seventh and an eighth. He is level with Eric Cantona now, only one behind Bobby Charlton, surely destined to take Wayne Rooney’s record.

And Haaland’s excellence perhaps robbed Doku of the man-of-the-match award. Electric and elusive, he showed an ability to evade United’s five defenders. He can be hard to contain but erratic: here, however, he twice found pinpoint deliveries.

The Belgian supplied the slide-rule pass for City’s second goal, allowing Haaland to dink a shot over Altay Bayindir. He had been too strong for Shaw, or Shaw too weak to halt him. “If you look at the goals, we can avoid those goals,” said Amorim. “First goal, the lack of aggressiveness.”

The second, he felt, was the worst of all. "The third goal is a confusion in the middle of the park,” he added. After Shaw gave the ball away. Haaland was still in his own half when he was behind any United defender. Bernardo Silva released him to slot a shot past Bayindir. It could have completed a hat-trick for him: after rounding the goalkeeper earlier, he angled a shot against the post, allowing Leny Yoro to clear off the line. But for a miss from Tijjani Reijnders, he would have had an assist, too.

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Jeremy Doku also impressed for City (Nick Potts/PA Wire)

The two managers had been furnished with new goalkeepers. Only one picked his. Senne Lammens was given a watching brief, Gianluigi Donnarumma a start. Guardiola was vindicated.

The Italian was assured, a huge presence, with a capacity to make telling stops. He twice denied Benjamin Sesko a first United goal. He made a magnificent save from Bryan Mbeumo’s volley; he looked among the world’s best. United’s profligacy was a reason why Donnarumma got a debut clean sheet. “We need to be more clinical,” Amorim admitted.

Guardiola, though, was delighted with Donnarumma. “Tres bien. Sehr gut. He played really good,” he said. His new recruit helped them start a defining week of United, Napoli and Arsenal on a high.

Guardiola demurred when asked if this could kickstart City’s season. “It is [only] one game,” he insisted. The same may be true for United; they have lost plenty of other games. “I see that we are doing better but the results don't show that,” claimed Amorim. The result suggested it was a particularly damaging defeat.