Manchester United were out to prove that their dramatic 3–2 victory over Burnley before the September international break was not a case of crack-covering when they visited the Etihad on Sunday.
The Red Devils have enjoyed considerable success at Manchester City’s imposing amphitheatre in recent times, and the flaws displayed by the once-perennial champions may have deluded a few United supporters that back-to-back wins were on the table. Hey, perhaps that bloke will soon get a haircut.
However, instead of once again claiming local bragging rights, United sank to a feeling of apathy against their bitter rivals. Pep Guardiola’s side had their way with the visitors, cruising to a 3–0 victory.
Thus, a familiar feeling of defeat is simmering for the Red Devils, who will continue to wonder whether Ruben Amorim is the right man to lead the poisoned chalice forward.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s Manchester Derby.
Midfield Mess
The writing was on the wall for Manchester United when Amorim opted for a midfield pivot consisting of Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte. In truth, all of United’s potential pairings come with caveats, but deploying these two in this fixture felt like a big risk.
Fernandes has long been the beating heart of this United team, but he continues to present a tricky tactical dilemma for the one-dimensional Amorim. Play him in the front three and United suffer in the buildup, but play him deep and opposing midfielders will doubtless run off of him.
There was little the two could do to deny City’s obvious midfield overload, with Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders and Jérémy Doku encircling United’s pivot to add ball progression. The Cityzens weren’t all that slick with their usage of the ball, with Rodri and Reijnders sloppy on occasions, yet they had their way with United’s pivot throughout the first half, in particular. The issue would only be combatted by Leny Yoro jumping to mark Doku, which, of course, would leave a gaping void for Erling Haaland to exploit.
So, there was a distinct structural issue, but Amorim’s questionable personnel selection also came back to bite him. For Foden’s opener, Fernandes, as was the case against Fulham on Gameweek 2, failed to track the City midfielder’s run, allowing him to head home from Doku’s cross.
With each passing week, United‘s inability to acquire a midfielder in the summer window appears more costly.
Sesko Blanks on First Premier League Start
Injuries to Matheus Cunha and Mason Mount opened the door for Benjamin Šeško to make his first Premier League start, having made a string of bench appearances before the September break. The Slovenian’s sole United start arrived on that fateful night in Grimsby.
The striker is only a couple of months into his career on English shores, yet this felt like a big opportunity for him in his first Manchester Derby. Pep Guardiola’s City have so far proven themselves to be flawed out of possession, with their high defensive line surely intriguing United’s athletic new asset in attack.
And there was space to be attacked in behind City’s defence for Šeško, who contributed to their bright early start before fading. There was some promise from the 22-year-old, but his overall game just appears so unrefined and inconsistent. Given the fee United paid for his services, there has to be an expectation for Šeško to begin offering more. Patience is required with this sort of talent, but the early signs suggest he may well succumb to the Man Utd media frenzy like so many others have in the recent past.
We’ve Found Foden
It was a poignant derby atmosphere at the Etihad, with Manchester learning of Ricky Hatton’s death on Sunday morning. The former boxing champion was a fervent City supporter, and you just had a feeling that the hometown hero, who loves the derby, was going to have a big say in how the latest iteration played out.
Foden, the PFA Player of the Year during the Cityzens’ previous title-winning campaign, endured a down 2024–25, and some had questioned whether the very best of the gifted Englishman would ever surface again in Manchester.
The left-footed playmaker hadn’t scored a Premier League goal since January heading into the derby, but Guardiola, in Omar Marmoush’s absence, opted to name Foden in his starting XI for the first time this season.
His goal-drought concluded with a pinpoint header from Jérémy Doku’s cross, with Foden taking advantage of United’s midfield flaws noted above. The playmaker positioned himself craftily to ensure he was rarely within Ugarte or Fernandes’s grasp, and City’s numerical overload aided Foden’s capacity to dictate and control proceedings in the first half.
It was the Englishman at his wondrous best, and he saved another lovely sequence for the second half, when he ignited the move for Haaland’s first goal. It was City’s striker who claimed Player of the Match honours, while the widely-discussed Gianluigi Donnarumma enjoyed a fine debut, but it was Foden’s performance that would’ve been most encouraging for Guardiola.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Takeaways from Man Utd’s Convincing Derby Day Defeat to Man City.