Manchester United v Man City LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Haaland hits double in thrashing
Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City: The champions were completely dominant at Old Trafford as Haaland scored twice in a brilliant display
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.
Follow all the latest reaction from the Manchester derby below, and get all the latest football betting sites offers here.
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Alex Stepney was stood in the shadow of the statue of his three most celebrated teammates. Manchester United’s ‘Holy Trinity’ have been separated, with only Denis Law still able to visit the Theatre of Dreams, but they are immortalised in bronze outside it. Yet while the statue of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Law – each of such a stature that he was voted European Footballer of the Year – was placed outside Old Trafford, only one had a stand at one of the iconic stadia named after him.
The South Stand is the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. It has been since 2016 and on Sunday, it will have an added poignancy, in the first Manchester derby since Charlton died. A week of mourning has shown what Charlton meant: to United, to England, to football. “He’d be very humbled and say, ‘I don’t deserve it’,” Stepney said. “That’s Bobby Charlton.” But as both the statue and the stand show, the tributes began long before Charlton’s life ended.
His innate modesty meant that the man widely described as England’s greatest footballer retained his humility. He was, though aware of his importance to so many while downplaying his own significance. “He never showed it,” Stepney said. “He didn’t want to show it because that wasn’t him. When they opened the stand, it was the Everton game, I was with him and he had to go on the pitch with [his wife] Norma and he had a tear in his eye. He said, ‘I don’t deserve this’. I said, ‘Bob, you deserve everything, you deserve everything you get, throughout your life for the way you have done the game, played the game and inspired supporters all around the world’.”
Decades on, Charlton’s story has, if anything, appeared still more remarkable.
By Richard Jolly
Man Utd will deliver fitting celebration in house that Sir Bobby Charlton built
After a week of mourning, Manchester United host Manchester City in the first derby since Sir Bobby Charlton’s passing, with fans coming together at Old Trafford to celebrate the life of one of the greatest players
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Raphael Varane is on the bench for Manchester United and the reason he is not in the starting line-up is “tactical”, Erik ten Hag has explained.
Should have some full quotes shortly...
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had got his way, the scorer of the most famous goal in Manchester United’s history may now only be deemed the second best Norwegian striker to play for the club. He was Molde manager in 2018 and had a young centre-forward to recommend, and for a bargain price. “They didn’t listen, unfortunately,” he said in May. “They never signed him. Four million! Don’t ask [where he is now].”
The answer, as Solskjaer knew all too well, is Manchester City. Perhaps, as a self-proclaimed fan of the club whose father had an altogether less prolific spell in their midfield, Erling Haaland would have always preferred the blue half of the city anyway. Maybe, like Jude Bellingham – another United target, another who found Borussia Dortmund a deluxe finishing school – he would have plotted a path to the top via places where potential tends to be realised.
Whichever, Haaland scored a hat-trick in his first Manchester derby last year. He goes into his fourth with nine Premier League goals already this season. Or, to put it another way, nine times as many as United’s various forwards have between them. Admittedly, it excludes Bruno Fernandes’ sumptuous winner at Burnley, scored when he was standing in as a right winger, but even that lone goal, from Marcus Rashford at Arsenal, came in defeat. Rasmus Hojlund, Anthony Martial, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony are all yet to find the net in the league.
Manchester United vs Man City preview, by Richard Jolly
Erling Haaland shadow continues to loom over Manchester United’s misfiring forwards
Erling Haaland was the one that got away for Manchester United and the striker has more goals this season than Erik ten Hag’s forwards combined
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Jonny Evans makes his first Manchester United start against Manchester City since 2011.
What happened that day? City won 6-1 and Evans was sent off.
Twelve years and several moves later, he starts again in Erik ten Hag’s defence.
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Team news!
Goodness me - United’s defence continues to be plagued by injuries. Raphael Varane and Sergio Reguilon both join Casemiro on the injury list, and there are starts for Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans against the champions.
City make six changes from midweek: Jack Grealish starts ahead of Jeremy Doku on the left and Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland lead the line. The visitors look strong.
Line-ups
Man United XI: Onana, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Evans, Amrabat, McTominay, Eriksen, Fernandes, Rashford, Hojlund.
Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Gvardiol, Stones, Dias, Rodri, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez, Haaland
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
We will have the confirmed line-ups in a few minutes, wonder if we will see any surprises?
There are rumous that Casemiro is out, and Varane and Reguilon could be unavailable too...
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
All of Pep Guardiola’s work ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend has naturally revolved around having a high percentage of possession, which is to be expected, but there is one surprising element to it. He has been scrutinising what more pragmatic sides such as Brentford, Brighton and even Copenhagen did against United for instruction.
All of them went to Old Trafford looking to get on the ball and dominate – with mixed success – in a way that at one point would have been unimaginable. It is really only Nottingham Forest who didn’t take that approach this season, preferring to let United have the ball. In United’s nine Premier League games so far, they have had lower possession than their opponent in four of those. In other words, they’ve been chasing the opposition in almost half of their games.
This would be unusual for most big sides in this era but is particularly unusual for a manager in Erik ten Hag who is so consciously a disciple of the Ajax principles, and has now had well over a year in the job. That’s a lot of time on the training ground. Manchester City had even considered him a potential successor to Guardiola, given the tactical alignment.
Manchester United vs Man City preview, by Miguel Delaney
Erik ten Hag has abandoned his ideals – and it might help United beat City
Erik ten Hag is having to improvise this season without the right players to play in the Ajax mould, but that might make Pep Guardaiola’s job more difficult when they meet at Old Trafford
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Andre Onana has called for his Manchester United teammate Alejandro Garnacho not to be punished by the Football Association after the Argentine winger posted two gorilla emojis beside a picture of the Cameroonian goalkeeper.
The image, on Garnacho’s X account, showed Onana celebrating with clenched fists after his last-minute penalty save ensured United beat FC Copenhagen 1-0 in their crucial Champions League group stage match at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
Garnacho, 19, was criticised by some fans on social media for using gorilla emojis, which have racial connotations, and he deleted the post soon afterwards. The FA is now investigating.
Onana later posted on Instagram: “People cannot choose what I should be offended by. I know exactly what @garnacho7 meant: power & strength. This matter should go no further.”
Ten Hag said: “We are talking with FA to see what [happens], I can confirm that. I want to emphasise that we are together and united and you have seen the post of Andre Onana.”
Andre Onana defends Man Utd teammate Alejandro Garnacho over gorilla emoji post
The Football Association is investigating Garnacho’s social media post
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Pep Guardiola, who has helped Manchester City transform this fixture in recent years, on whether Manchester United can compete for the Premier League title again.
“Maybe not in the way that Sir Alex Ferguson did because back then there were just two or three teams, now there are more with a lot of incredible managers.
“Maybe not in that way but if they take good decisions, with the hierarchy, with the sports director, with the managers, with the players and the same ideas, Manchester United when something happens is in the highlights all day.
“The reputation and the prestige they have is always there. It just needs to click.
“There was one year with Ole that was close. But Liverpool have been our biggest rivals - they made us challenge higher and higher and helped make us a better team in all departments. They challenged us like no other team has done before.
“It takes time. United is able to win four, five six games in a row. If they do that they will be on top.
“Leave the manager to do the job that here they allowed me to do in my first season when we didn’t win. Give time to the managers and they will do it.”
Manchester United vs Man City: Latest Premier League updates
Old Trafford will continue to pay its respects to Sir Bobby Charlton today as they host neighbours Manchester City.
There were emotional tributes on Tuesday as United played Copenhagen at Old Trafford and that will continue today in the Premier League.
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