Man City vs Man Utd LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Foden and Haaland goals complete comeback
Man City 3-1 Man Utd: Pep Guardiola’s men fought from a goal down to triumph in the Manchester derby
Manchester City triumphed at the Etihad Stadium to keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool and earn a sixth win in the last seven Manchester derbies.
Things didn’t always look as though City would win. Marcus Rashford had the first word with a blistering strike inside the first 10 minutes, beating Ederson from 25-yards with a rocket that rattled into the underside of the crossbar and finished in the back of the net.
United’s Andre Onana performed admirably in goal as City stepped up the tempo but the hosts should have entered the half-time break on level terms only for Erling Haaland to volley over the crossbar from close range.
Phil Foden, quickly making the derby his stage to perform on, nipped in from the right just before the hour mark and nailed a left footed strike into the far top corner to equalise. With 10 minutes to go Foden, aided superbly by Julian Alvarez, finished off a slick move to get into the box and coolly finished past Onana to put the hosts ahead before Haaland closed out the match in stoppage time.
Relive the action from the Manchester derby below:
Closing in on kick-off
We’re just moments away from kick-off and the atmosphere is brewing nicely inside the Etihad Stadium.
What has the latest edition of the Manchester derby got in store for us? Let’s find out shortly...
Ratcliffe’s first Manchester derby
Today’s match is the first Manchester derby since Sir Jim Ratcliffe became a co-owner of Manchester United and took over their footballing operations.
When the deal was completed he said he wanted to knock Manchester City “off their perch” within three years and described their 4-0 win over Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League semi-final as “the best football I’ve seen”.
Will Ratcliffe get his wish earlier than expected with a United victory this afternoon?
Haaland looking to inflict more woes on Manchester rivals
Back to his best against Luton in midweek, Haaland will be eyeing up more goals against an injury-hit United defence.
Against no side has the Norwegian scored more Premier League goals than against Manchester United (5). Indeed, only Sergio Agüero (8) has scored more Manchester derby goals for the Citizens in the competition than Haaland.
Bruno Fernandes looking for improved display in landmark appearance
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was a doubt in midweek but has been passed fit to start, meaning he has not missed a Premier League match through injury for two years.
It is the Portuguese international’s 150th Premier League appearance today and he will no doubt be eyeing up an important contribution in this game.
The 29-year-old has created more chances than any other player in the competition this term (74) but his rate of a goal or assist every 281 minutes this term is his lowest in any of his five campaigns.
Guardiola warns about Manchester derby emotions
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City must not be distracted by emotions in Sunday’s derby against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
City, who won 3-0 at Old Trafford in October, are second in the Premier League, four places above United and four points behind leaders Liverpool whom they are determined to catch.
Any drop in points could be costly in the title race though today’s encounter may not be as easy as first expected. Though City are unbeaten in 18 games, United have lost only once in this calendar year.
“What I learn from my experience in these types of games is to be more calm, relax, don’t talk about many things,” Guardiola said.
“Just focus on tactics and what you have to do to beat them, not about emotions - because emotions will be there, without doubt.”
Earlier today
Sunday’s early game saw Bournemouth claim their first win of the year with a hard-fought 2-0 away victory against Burnley.
Goals from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo either side of half-time move the Cherries up to 13th, while Vincent Kompany’s side remain in 19th and 11 points off safety.
Inside the power battles at the heart of the new Manchester United
Over the past few months, Jean-Claude Blanc has kept a line of dialogue open with Zinedine Zidane. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos and Blanc, the chief executive of its sports arm, have long been admirers of the former Real Madrid manager. That level of Champions League success is naturally what Ineos is aspiring to at Manchester United.
This isn’t to say that Zidane is set to take over at Old Trafford in the summer, but it is a connection the group is naturally keeping open.
It similarly feeds into the feeling around Erik ten Hag’s future. Virtually everyone is saying it is up in the air. Ineos is monitoring everything and consulting, and will make the decision it best sees fit.
Miguel Delaney, meanwhile, takes a look at the shifting power dynamics at Old Trafford following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover:
Inside the power battles at the heart of the new Manchester United
As Manchester United take on their city rivals on the pitch on Sunday, there are years of work ahead in order to catch up off it. But with Sir Jim Ratcliffe leading the revolution, change could be coming sooner than expected, writes Miguel Delaney
How Phil Foden became Man City’s invisible, invaluable talisman
The last time Manchester United visited the Etihad Stadium, Phil Foden achieved a historic feat. He became the first player to score a hat-trick in a Manchester derby for all of nine minutes. Admittedly, until Erling Haaland had completed his own treble, no one else had mustered one in the fixture since Andrei Kanchelskis in 1994.
The last time Manchester City beat Manchester United, Foden was on target and yet overshadowed by Haaland again, scoring the third goal at Old Trafford in October. As he approaches his 12th derby – at 23, it is another indication of how Foden is amassing the numbers of a senior player while still relatively young – it is as a member of the supporting cast again.
Ahead of today’s fixture, Richard Jolly takes a look at City’s home-grown talisman
How Phil Foden became Man City’s invisible, invaluable talisman
Foden is often a support cast to Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland but can impact the Manchester derby in particular because of that
City emulating United
Man City have won five of the last six Premier League titles, while Manchester United’s most recent league title came in 2013 - Sir Alex Ferguson’s final year in charge.
Last year City matched their rivals’ feat from 1998-99 by winning the Treble and are battling to repeat the feat this season by vying for the Premier League title, the Champions League trophy and the FA Cup.
Manchester United team news
Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, makes two changes from his FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest. Evans starts in central defence alongside Varane, with Amrabat dropping to the bench and Lindelof shifting to left-back.
The other change sees Mainoo come in for Antony. The youngster will partner Casemiro in a midfield-two, with McTominay moving further forward and Fernandes, presumably, shifting out to the right wing.
Man Utd XI: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Evans, Lindelof, Mainoo, Casemiro, McTominay, Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford
Subs: Bayindir, Kambwala, Ogunneye, Amad, Amrabat, Collyer, Eriksen, Forson, Antony.
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