Manchester City once again showcased their power and made it clear who rules the city by decisively defeating Manchester United 3-0 in the derby played on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, in another round of the English Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side, coming off two consecutive defeats, delivered a solid, dominant, and lethal performance in front of goal, led by an unstoppable Erling Haaland who scored a brace and reached his 128th and 129th goals for City in just 150 official matches.
The match began with suffocating pressure from the hosts, who stormed the opposing area from the opening whistle, and in the 18th minute they opened the scoring with a precise header from Phil Foden after a Jeremy Doku cross that landed at his feet following a lucky rebound. United, disconnected and fragile in defense, tried to react but were completely outplayed in every area by the Skyblues’ associative and vertical style of play.
After the break, Haaland took center stage: in the 53rd minute he received a through ball from Doku and finished with a powerful low shot from the edge of the six-yard box to make it 2-0, and just two minutes later he nearly scored a third with a thunderous strike that crashed against the crossbar. The visitors had a rare chance with a shot from Bryan Mbeumo that forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into action, but the City goalkeeper responded firmly. In the 68th minute came the final blow:
Haaland started the move from his own half, accelerated at full speed leaving defenders behind, and finished with class into the far corner to seal the 3-0 victory, unleashing euphoria among the home fans. With this result, Manchester City breaks their two-match losing streak (0-2 against Tottenham and 1-2 to Brighton) and secures a crucial win in the 197th Manchester derby against the struggling Red Devils, who have won only one of the recent head-to-head clashes. Meanwhile, at the top of the table, Liverpool remains in first place after a dramatic last-minute 1-0 away win over Burnley, keeping the Premier League title race extremely tight.
