It was Manchester CityBut not as we knew them. Or that is to say that the theory has gone, anyway. But for Manchester UnitedIt was just the city they remembered. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, they had been destroyed in a derby in which the two Phil Foden And Erling Haaland brand. It was also in 2025: there may be evidence City decline in other gamesIn a league table that showed them in 16th at launch, but not in their last demolition derby.
For United, the story was repeated. Second best in Manchester, they were cut. For Ruben AmorimThere was a first overview of thousands of fans of the city turning their backs on the game to make the poznan. If he could not see some of the united supporters, it was because the external end was emptied well before the final whistle. United spoke of a late victory in Etihad a month after the reign of Amorim. There has never been any danger of rehearsal.
Instead, there was Amorim’s familiar sound insisting that he will not change A system that does not work. “I’m not going to change,” he said. “When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. Otherwise, you have to change the man,” said a manager with only 31 points of 31 games in charge. “This is not a record that you should have at Manchester United,” admitted Amorim.
Its best result occurred at Etihad: but in December, not now. In the Revenge match, United was mastered by Haaland, the symbolic moments when Luke Shaw was dismissed for the first goal of the Norwegian and Harry Maguire exceeded the latter signs that they could not live with the giant. After declaring the start of the city’s season not good enough, Haaland began to rectify it. He unleashed his first shot after 18 seconds. He made a series of authorizations from his own box. He also had a whole impact in the united sentence region.
“Erling has never disappointed us,” said Guardiola. “He’s a special player.” After a summer when United spent 200 million pounds sterling for new attackers, Guardiola said Haaland is the best striker in the world. His n ° 9 offered more evidence of the argument.
He finished a united side that needs such a clinical instinct. “Two games, seven goals, it’s not bad,” said Guardiola. After Five goals against MoldovaThe Haaland splint did it everywhere. Perhaps these direct elimination blows were an appropriate tribute to the fan of the end of the city, Ricky Hatton.
It was also another room. It had been presented as a Manchester derby without Mancunian. Instead, one scored, Foden at his first start to the season. He went into the second attempt by Jeremy Doku de Croix, the winger creating luck with a shimmy in the box. Foden had a ghost in space; United often finds it difficult to follow the midfielders. “He likes to get to the box,” said Guardiola. “He’s a guy who makes a pass and goes to a penalty point like an animal. He played incredible. We are missing so last season. We cannot forget that, there are two seasons, he was the best player in the Premier League.”
It was Foden’s seventh goal in Manchester Derbies. Haaland first equaled and then exceeded it, with a seventh and an eighth. It is level with Eric Cantona now, only one behind Bobby Charlton, surely intended to take the record of Wayne Rooney.
And Haaland’s excellence may have stolen Doku from the match of the match man. Electric and elusive, he showed a capacity to escape the five defenders of United. It can be difficult to contain but erratic: here, however, he has found Pinpoint deliveries twice.
The Belgian provided the Toboggan pass for the city’s second goal, allowing Haaland to pass a shot on Altay Bayindir. He had been too strong for Shaw, or Shaw too weak to stop him. “If you look at the objectives, we can avoid these objectives,” said Amorim. “First objective, the lack of aggression.”
The second, according to him, was the worst of all. “The third goal is confusion in the middle of the park,” he added. After Shaw gave the ball. Haaland was still in his own when he was behind any united defender. Bernardo Silva released him to split a shot in front of Bayindir. He could have completed a hat -trick for him: after having rounded the goalkeeper earlier, he tilted a shot against the post, allowing Leny Yoro to get rid of the line. But for a lack of Tijjani Reijnders, he would also have had a decisive pass.
The two managers had been furnished with new goalkeepers. Only one chose his. Senne Lammens received a brief brief, Gianluigi Donnarumma. Guardiola was confirmed.
The Italian was ensured, a huge presence, with an ability to make revealing stops. He denied Benjamin Sesko twice a first united goal. He made a magnificent backup of the volley of Bryan Mbeumo; He looked among the best in the world. The debauchery of United was a reason why Donnarumma obtained a first white sheet. “We must be more clinical,” admitted Amorim.
Guardiola, however, was delighted with Donnarumma. “Very well. Sehr Gut. He played very well,” he said. His new recruit helped them to start a decisive week from United, Napoli and Arsenal at the top.
Guardiola dismantled when he was asked if it could launch the City’s season. “It’s (only) one match,” he insisted. The same can be true for United; They have lost many other games. “I see that we are better, but the results do not show it,” said Amorim. The result suggested that it was a particularly damaging defeat.
