IT was a day when Manchester was United in tribute – but divided by a bloody great chasm in footballing class.
After both sets of supporters had joined forces to salute the late Sir Bobby Charlton, Manchester City’s modern footballing greats embarrassed their shambling mid-table hosts.
Erling Haaland netted twice and laid on the third for Phil Foden but the Norwegian would have had five goals of his own but for a hat-trick of outstanding saves from Andre Onana.
Pep Guardiola was only being honest when he claimed that United had not been his team’s greatest rivals during his seven-year Etihad reign and the gap between these two clubs is only getting wider.
Erik Ten Hag’s side have now lost five of their first ten Premier League matches and the Dutchman has seen his side regress badly after the Dutchman’s promising maiden campaign.
Guardiola’s Treble-winners are still two points behind surprise leaders Tottenham but it will be a shock if they don’t record a fourth straight Premier League crown and a sixth in seven seasons.
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The pre-match tributes to Sir Bobby were as classy as you’d expect.
Six United and City legends of the 1960s were in the centre circle for a minute’s applause and a giant Stretford End which proclaimed Sir Bobby as ‘The Finest English Footballer The World Has Ever Seen’.
City’s supporters joined in with the applause but soon started reminding the home supporters that they were champions of Europe and that Old Trafford is ‘falling down’.
Guardiola had made some feisty comments before this, stating that Liverpool have been his side’s greatest rivals and that United would never dominate again as they had done under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Still, the derby itself had proved a great leveller – United having recorded seven victories over Guardiola’s City in as many seasons.
Onana had been the injury-time hero with a penalty save to deny Copenhagen an equaliser in the Champions League on Tuesday and he was at it again after eight minutes of the derby.
Rodri’s lofted pass picked out Kyle Walker who nodded back for Foden to head goalwards but United’s Cameroonian keeper pushed it away and then recovered to scoop the ball away from Haaland with the Norwegian ready to pounce.
Onana pushed away a Grealish shot and the only time United’s fans were roaring in the early stages was when Harry Maguire won a mighty duel with Haaland.
City had certainly been on top but they went in front in strange circumstances when VAR Michael Oliver spotted a tug from Rasmus Hojlund on Rodri as United defended a free-kick.
It was hardly ‘clear and obvious’, more the sort of thing you’d see from most attacking set-pieces, but once Oliver – the senior man – had sent Paul Tierney to his monitor, the ref pointed to the spot.
Haaland rolled into one corner as Onana dived for the other and City were in front.
United’s occasional threats usually came from loose City passes, such as the Foden effort which let in Hojlund, only for John Stones and Ederson to combine and send the Dane too wide for an effective finish.
Maguire and Diogo Dalot got into a horrible tangle which threatened an own-goal and Bruno Fernandes cleaned out Jack Grealish with an aerial challenge on the touchline, before Sofyan Amrabat and Foden were both booked for a rutting contest.
In injury time Marcus Rashford’s instinctive angled pass located Scott McTominay, who controlled, swivelled and lashed a shot which Ederson palmed wide.
But the half ended as it had begun, with some Onana heroics as he made an astonishing stop to push out Haaland’s point-blank header from a Bernardo Silva cross – an effort which had shades of Gordon Banks and Pele.
McTominay had been operating as a No 10 in the first half but was shoved back to a deeper role when Mason Mount replaced Amrabat at the break.
It didn’t make the blindest bit of difference because within four minutes City had doubled their lead with an absolute peach of a move.
Passing and moving with pace and murderous intent, Rodri found Julian Alvarez, who switched it to Grealish, who fed Bernardo for a left-wing cross for Haaland who headed it beyond Onana.
United had been stretched by City’s passing to such an extent that Haaland was unmarked, which would not have been in Ten Hag’s masterplan.
Grealish twice went close to making it 3-0, one shot pushed away by Onana and another whistling wide across goal.
Just when the gulf in class was beginning to look ridiculous, Christian Eriksen reminded us that there was also a bit of quality in the United team.
His brilliant diagonal pass from deep released Rashford, who shot wide on the turn.
Still, normal service was resumed when Grealish slipped a pass to Haaland, who attempted to chip the advancing Onana but was thwarted by another fine save.
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Ten Hag was booed for withdrawing Hojlund, in favour of Alejandro Garnacho, with the ineffective Rashford moving to centre-forward.
But when Rodri let rip from outside the box, Onana could only push out to Haaland who unselfishly squared for Foden to poke over the line.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
