Erling Haaland’s double helped Manchester City secure derby day delight as lifeless rivals Manchester United were outclassed in an embarrassing home defeat.
The eyes of the footballing world were on Old Trafford as the neighbours met in the 191st Manchester derby and first since Pep Guardiola’s men matched their 1999 treble triumph.
Haaland scored a spot-kick and unmarked header before playing in Phil Foden to wrap up 3-0 victory, yet City’s dominance was far greater than the scoreline suggests.
It was an abrupt end to an unconvincing three-match winning run in all competitions for Erik ten Hag’s United, who have now lost five of their 10 opening Premier League games.
Unfair Erling Haaland vs Jonny Evans contest sums up everything wrong at Manchester United
There was a time when Manchester City won at Old Trafford and it was Jonny Evans’ fault. This wasn’t it; not really, not when he was a cause of defeat but, more than anything, a symptom of Manchester United’s malaise. A decade into life after Sir Alex Ferguson, with well over £1bn spent, with more than £400m going on new players in Erik ten Hag’s reign, the man challenged with stopping Erling Haaland was Evans, the final throwback to Ferguson’s era.
Haaland escaped him and eluded him. Evans left him utterly unmarked to head in Bernardo Silva’s cross for his second goal, even if the mitigating factor was the presence of Rodri; he wandered off to police the Champions League final scorer instead. Evans left him again when Haaland set up Phil Foden for City’s third; when Andre Onana parried Rodri’s shot, Evans was caught dozing, the striker speeding past him to tee up the Mancunian.
Nor was Evans near Haaland when Onana made a brilliant save from the Norwegian on the stroke of half-time. When the forward darted in behind an altogether slower defender, the goalkeeper turned rescuer, clawing away a shot. Haaland was rampant. It was only Onana, with perhaps his best performance in a United shirt, who denied him a second derby hat-trick. And yet it was all eminently predictable. It was an unfair contest; but then it was always going to be. Evans did as well as could be expected, which is to say not very.
Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City: Haaland scored twice and finished with an assist in a one-side derby at Old Trafford
Erling Haaland ensures a defeatist Man United are dismantled in the derby
Had this not been at a grand but crumbling Old Trafford, and bedecked in all the regalia of what is supposed to be one of the Premier League’s biggest games, most watching on would have fairly dismissed it as another routine Manchester City win over some mid-table side way below them.
Instead, this 3-0 defeat at home will send Manchester United back into crisis, and provoke even more questions about Erik ten Hag.
There is a growing sense he is struggling to come up with answers. Mitigating circumstances only go so far when United have just offered up City’s second-easiest win of the season, in what is supposed to be the fixture that means the most. Only Fulham were beaten by more, but it still felt like they put up more of a fight. So did relative European minnows in the modern game such as Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys Bern. They only lost 3-1 to the European champions.
How United would have valued even the reprieve of the goal here. City were simply so much better than them without even needing to be that good.
