Manchester City walk the pitch at Tokyo National Stadium in 2023.

Teguan Harris

Manchester United took on Manchester City on Sunday 3rd March at the Manchester derby, with the reds suffering a devastating loss.

Manchester United lost 3-1 to Manchester City, painting Manchester blue as City completed the double, following their derby victory at Old Trafford in October last year.

The match saw Rashford score during the first ten minutes before Foden dominated, scoring two goals out of three, with Haaland securing the final goal for the team.

Manchester City previously took on Manchester United in the October derby, which saw them win 3-0.

This was City’s sixth win in seven rival games against United, who suffered their 11th Premier League defeat.

A THUNDEROUS START FOR MANCHESTER UNITED

Rashford dominated before the ten-minute mark, scoring a goal for Manchester United in the first eight minutes of the match. This was the first shot of the game as it thundered off the underside of the bar and reinstated fans’ confidence in his dedication to the team.

Manchester United tightened their defence throughout the first half, as Onana denied Foden the goal in the 15th minute and then again in the 19th minute.

While their defence was tight, Manchester United failed to take more shots at the goal. Despite a booming start to the derby, Rashford made ill attempts to gain control of the ball, both failing to tackle in the 17th minute and missing out in the 23rd minute as he struck the ball with his right foot.

Though Manchester City fell behind on the score, they dominated on the stats, making 14 attempts at goal compared to Manchester United’s one.

In the 45th minute, Haaland missed a goal, shocking spectators. The crowd were reeling from this miss before halftime as they scrambled to figure out how it could have happened.

With 14 shots to the goal, Manchester City were determined to take the win. Luckily, they had the second half to recover from Haaland’s mind-boggling miss.

With only a single shot at the goal, Manchester United faced a challenge to build upon Rashford’s thunderbolt goal.

A DOMINATING FINISH FOR MANCHESTER CITY

The score was 0-1 for Manchester United after Rashford’s booming start, however Manchester City dominated the second half, starting with a high percentage of the possession.

Despite starting the second half strong, Onana was the player to beat, as he stayed on form in goal. 

“Meanwhile, Manchester City claimed the win with Foden securing the match…”

Manchester United headed further towards a fall from grace after their thundering start, as Mainoo missed his pass in the 52nd minute, failing to put the ball in Rashford’s pass. Meanwhile, City claimed the win, with Foden securing the match with a goal in the 56th minute.

With few shots at the goal and Manchester City’s redemption arc developing, Manchester United’s red paint was starting to dry.

Ederson denied Ganarcho in the 79th minute, beating him to the ball. Foden scored in the 80th minute as he took control of the match, dominating the scores. Haaland redeemed himself from his shocking miss in the 45th minute with a goal in the 92nd minute, turning the tables towards the blues.

After eight minutes of added time, Manchester City dominated the derby with a 3-1 win, painting Manchester blue. With only one goal and a few further attempts, Manchester United departed the pitch with another derby loss.

A SECOND MANCHESTER DERBY LOSS

This was Manchester United’s consecutive derby loss, after losing 3-0 in October last year.

That Derby saw Haaland and Foden dominate the match, with Haaland scoring in the first and second halves and Foden leading the team to a 3-0 win.

The match saw pointless substitutions, poor strategy from manager Erik Ten Hag, and lacklustre planning and performance from Manchester United. Weak defences and little critical thought in the movement were strong catalysts for the team’s loss. 

This year, Manchester United were sharper in their defence. In the first half, Onana successfully took on Foden as he defended the score. But, despite their defensive form, City were stronger. The team did not take as many shots at goal and failed to build a victory over Rashford’s goal.  Manchester United may have walked away with a loss, but their dignity is still intact.

The match highlighted Haaland’s fantastic skill set, as he ended the match with 11 Premier League goals. Despite scoring the final nail in Manchester United’s derby coffin the second time around, fans cannot easily forget his miss in the 45th minute.

PHIL FODEN: MAN OF THE MATCH

“He is the best player in the Premier League right now.”

This derby was a stunning match for Manchester City, with Foden rightfully winning the title of Man of the Match.

City’s manager Pep Guardiola saluted Foden as the “best player in the Premier League right now,” after he commanded the match’s second half, bringing a win home for the team.

“He was always a talented player, but now he is more mature and understands more the game, especially defensively,” Guardiola continued.

“What can I say? He is the best player in the Premier League right now for the amount of things he does. Unbelievable.”

“It’s my aim to turn up to the big games,” Foden said after his big win. “That’s what I want to do, and this season, I think I’ve done that. I just need to keep working hard.”

“IT’S NOT THAT BIG A MARGIN”

“We could have scored the second goal in a debatable moment.”

Ten Hag denied that Manchester United is behind City after their derby loss.

Manchester United’s manager claimed that with different officiating decisions before Foden’s goals, his team could have won, believing that Kyle Walker fouled Rashford before City’s first goal.

“You can see we have many problems with injuries, and still we had an opportunity,” he said. “Really small margins.

“I will not say it was a tackle from Kyle Walker. They both ran, and Rashy confirmed to me there was contact, and I have seen it back — was very soft.”

“We could have scored the second goal in a debatable moment,” he added. “We had the moment of the reckless action of the goalkeeper of City, and after that attack, we conceded. It’s not that big [a margin], and when we have everyone on board, we can be competitive.”

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Featured image courtesy of Patryk Antkiewicz via Flickr. No changes were made to the image. Image license found here.

Writer and journalist. University graduate in English Literature. Book reader, word lover and Notion enthusiast.

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