Erling Haaland struck twice as Manchester City powered
to a commanding 3-0 victory over Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday,
piling further pressure on United boss Ruben Amorim.
Phil Foden opened the scoring after 18 minutes,
heading home Jeremy Doku’s cross, before Haaland stole the spotlight in the
second half. The Norwegian doubled City’s lead with a delicate finish and later
sealed the win after capitalising on Harry Maguire’s mistake, taking his tally
to eight goals in nine appearances against United.
Haaland also produced one of the misses of the season
when he hit the post with the goal at his mercy, but City’s dominance ensured
the blunder mattered little.
United, who came into the derby ahead of City in the
table for the first time in five years, struggled to cope with Pep Guardiola’s
side. Bryan Mbeumo went closest for the visitors, but debutant Gianluigi
Donnarumma denied him with a world-class save to preserve City’s two-goal
cushion.
The victory ended City’s run of back-to-back league
defeats and moved them within six points of leaders Liverpool, ahead of a
testing week against Napoli and Arsenal.
Before kick-off, both sets of supporters united in a
minute’s applause for boxing legend and City fan Ricky Hatton, who died earlier
in the day at the age of 46. Foden, himself a boyhood City supporter, said the
tribute provided extra motivation for the team.
Amorim, meanwhile, now faces increased scrutiny after
a poor start to the season. United have just four points from four league
matches and were knocked out of the League Cup by fourth-tier Grimsby, with
chants of “sacked in the morning” ringing around the Etihad as City fans
taunted their rivals.
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