Erling Haaland struck twice as Manchester City eased past Manchester United with a commanding 3–0 victory in Sunday’s derby at the Etihad.
Phil Foden opened the scoring on 18 minutes, heading home from a Jeremy Doku cross, before Haaland netted either side of a glaring miss to seal City’s win. The Norwegian coolly chipped over Altay Bayindir early in the second half, then punished a Harry Maguire error late on to register his eighth goal in nine games against United.
United briefly threatened when Bryan Mbeumo’s volley forced a superb save from debutant Gianluigi Donnarumma, but City killed the contest moments later with Haaland’s second. Tijjani Reijnders and Foden both went close to adding further gloss as Pep Guardiola’s side rebounded from consecutive league defeats.
The result leaves Ruben Amorim under mounting pressure, with United collecting just four points from their opening four games and suffering a League Cup exit to fourth-tier Grimsby. City, meanwhile, remain six points behind leaders Liverpool but take momentum into crucial clashes with Napoli and Arsenal next week.
Before kick-off, both sets of supporters united in a minute’s applause for lifelong City fan and boxing icon Ricky Hatton, who passed away earlier in the day at 46. Foden, also a boyhood City supporter, said the tribute gave the team extra motivation: “It was special to get the win for Ricky.”