Manchester was painted blue on Sunday afternoon after Manchester City returned to winning ways against a floundering Manchester United outfit, beating their rivals at the Etihad Stadium by a **3-0 scoreline**in the Premier League.
Phil Foden’s first-half opener was followed by a second-half brace from Erling Haaland to help Pep Guardiola’s side bounce back after losing successive matches to Tottenham and Brighton prior to the international break.
Victory for Man City has seen them move onto six points and climb up to eighth in the**Premier League table**, two points and six places above Man United in 14th spot after four matches in the 2025-26 season.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at five key talking points from the 197th Manchester derby.
Haaland continues to deliver on derby day
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates on September 14, 2025
Many players relish playing on the biggest stage and Erling Haaland is certainly one of those, as he stepped up when it mattered for Man City and provided the clinical touch to seal three important points for Guardiola’s side.
Haaland came into this derby contest fresh from netting five goals past Moldova for Norway in a thumping 11-1 World Cup qualifier, and it was the striker’s sharpness in front of goal that took the match away from the Red Devils in the second half.
Both finishes from Man City’s No.9 were emphatic; his first was a delicate chip over Altay Bayindir following a neat combination from Foden and Jeremy Doku, before he burst through on goal and swept a composed strike into the bottom corner to double his tally.
Haaland’s performance was not quite perfect, though, as he should have really come away with the hat-trick ball, but he somehow missed an open net - albeit from a tight angle - and hit the post after rounding Bayindir.
Nevertheless, Haaland continues to deliver against Man United and has now directly contributed to 11 Premier League goals (eight goals, three assists) across his six Manchester derby appearances - a remarkable feat that is just two behind Ryan Giggs’s all time record of 13, and two more than Wayne Rooney (nine) who has played in 15 Manchester derbies more than Haaland!
Sesko fails to fire on full PL debut for Man Utd
Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko on September 14, 2025
Haaland showed Man United fans exactly what they are missing in the final third, and while Benjamin Sesko has arrived at Old Trafford with plenty of promise, he is yet to hit the ground running under Ruben Amorim.
After making three successive substitute appearances in the Premier League before drawing a blank on international duty with Slovenia, Sesko was handed his long-awaited debut in the English top flight at the Etihad, but Man United’s £73m signing from RB Leipzig was unable to make the desired impact up front.
Sesko touched the ball just 20 times throughout the match and not one of those was inside Man City’s penalty area. The 22-year-old also completed just eight passes and only won three of his nine duels before he was replaced in the 80th minute.
Some will put Sesko’s fairly quiet afternoon down to his own individual efforts, or down to a lack of service provided by his teammates. Either way, Amorim need to find the right formula to get the best out of his new centre-forward if he wishes to turn Man United’s fortunes around any time soon.
Foden lights up derby with superb display on Man City return
Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates on September 14, 2025
Guardiola stated at his pre-match press conference that Phil Foden is “ready” and “desperate” to get back to his best as quickly as possible after a frustrating spell on the sidelines with niggling injury issues.
It is fair to say that the Stockport-born attacker made the most of his return to the Man City side against a familiar foe, as he produced one of his best performances of 2025, showing glimpses of the same player that won the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Year award in a title-winning campaign.
Operating in his favoured central position behind Haaland, Foden was handed his first league start of the season and he delivered early in the derby as he glanced a superb header into the far corner to open the scoring for Man City.
Foden, who has now scored seven goals in Manchester derbies and only boasts a better scoring record against Brighton (eight), was given the freedom to express himself by Guardiola and his ability to link up with the likes of Haaland and Doku, as well as his silky skills and astute movement, was there for all to see at the Etihad.
Guardiola has asserted that Man City ‘need Foden so much’ this season and hopes that “step by step” the academy graduate can rediscover his top form in the near future, which would be a huge boost for a Kevin De Bruyne-less Citizens side at a time when both Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki are sidelined through injury.
Donnarumma’s dominant goalkeeping display on debut
Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrates on September 14, 2025
Man City supporters were eager to see their new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma make his first appearance for the club and the Italian goalkeeper enjoyed a solid start to life in the Premier League following his deadline day transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 26-year-old, who replaced James Trafford in the starting lineup, became just the eighth Man City player and only the third Citizens goalkeeper to make his debut for the club in a Manchester derby, but the towering Champions League-winning shot-stopper was not fazed one jot by the occasion.
A stunning one-handed save, tipping the ball round the post to keep out a well-struck volley from Bryan Mbeumo, was the highlight of Donnarumma’s debut.
His conviction from set-pieces, distribution under pressure and general awareness between the sticks helped Man City’s defence feel more secure throughout the contest.
Guardiola has full faith in Donnarumma that he can be a success at Man City, and while it is difficult to judge a player after one match, the Italian did make a notable impression against Man United, which bodes well ahead of tricky tests against Napoli and Arsenal up next.
Pressure mounting on Amorim: Is he the right man to solve Man Utd’s problems?
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim on September 14, 2025
Man United were sitting just above Man City in the Premier League table for the first time since 2020 before the derby, but it was Guardiola’s men who turned up when it mattered and it was clear that the hosts were a different class to their abject Red Devil counterparts.
To put it simply, Man United are struggling to score goals and struggling to keep the ball out at the other end whilst Ruben Amorim continues to persist with a philosophy that he is yet to have any success with since arriving at Old Trafford 10 months ago.
Of the 17 teams who have been in the Premier League since Amorim was appointed, Man United have the worst record having accumulated only 31 points from 31 games (W8 D7 L16). The Red Devils’ four points from as many matches this term represents the club’s poorest start to a PL season since 1992-93.
Amorim himself has the worst win percentage (36%) of any Man United manager since the Second World War and the 40-year-old has admitted that he will accept "any decision" taken in the wake of the club’s latest setback at the hands of their noisy neighbours.
To the frustration of some Man United supporters, Amorim has said that he is “not going to change” his philosophy and he intends to continue to “give everything” in his role as head coach, but how long he will have to maintain that position remains to be seen as the pressure continues to mount on the Portuguese.
ID:581497:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11275:
No Data Analysis info