Once again, Manchester City proved why they are the top contender in the Premier League. They are just one point behind Arsenal, standing in 2nd place. Today, they faced their city rival, Manchester United, in their 188th derby. Man City hosted the match at the Etihad Stadium, where the home team humiliated Manchester United. Two players of Man City scored a hat-trick against the Red Devils.
This massive victory has moved Man City to the 2nd position, while Man United slipped down to the 6th place after this match. In addition, the Citizens have ended Man United’s four games winning run today.
Match Report
Manchester City welcomed Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium to play their 8th game in the league. Man United’s boss Erik ten Hag played his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, where he benched Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola set up Man City’s formation with a 4-3-3. He deployed Jack Grealish and Phil Foden with Erling Haaland.
However, Manchester United were very slow in the first half. They couldn’t press the opponents. Besides, Man City started dominating from the very beginning of the match. As a result, the home team didn’t have to wait much to take the lead. Phil Foden found the net in the 8th minute for Man City.
After that, Erling Haaland started his show. He scored two goals between 34 to 37 minutes. Moreover, both goals came from Kevin de Bruyne’s assist. Conceding three goals in the 1st half, Manchester United became hopeless. They became unorganized in the field. Therefore, Man City scored another goal as Phil Foden scored his second goal in the 44th minute. So the home team went to the break with a four-goal lead.
Returning from the break, Man United tried to score one. Brazilian forward Antony opened the scoresheet for Man United as he scored a stunning goal in the 56th minute. But that one didn’t stop Man City from scoring more. In the 64th minute, Erling Haaland completed his hat-trick, which has become his 3rd hat-trick of the season. Moreover, Haaland has become the first player to score a hat-trick in three home matches in a row.
After a while, Phil Foden also completed his hat-trick in this match. In the 72nd minute, the England international beat David de Gea to score that goal. However, Anthony Martial scored two more goals for Manchester United in the final ten minutes, but that only reduced the goal differences for the Red Devils. As a result, Manchester City won the derby with a 6-3 margin at the Etihad Stadium.