Manchester City continued their impressive start to the season with a gutsy 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford
Manchester City made it five wins in a row to start the season
Manchester City made it five wins in a row to start the season(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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Manchester City took the local bragging rights on Sunday with an impressive 1-0 victory over Manchester United. The Blues were under the cosh on 23 minutes when Phil Foden saw red for lashing out at Bruno Fernandes. While Fernandes was lucky not to be punished, Foden was reeled in by the United captain and paid the price.
But instead of crumbling, City dug deep and deservedly took the lead on the hour mark when Erling Haaland steered home Josko Gvardiol's cross. VAR overturned the original decision to rule out the goal for offside. Pro Ref has since confirmed that the Stockley Park officials got the decision wrong. However, City's performance earned them a slice of luck.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made sure of the three points in second-half stoppage time as he produced a fantastic save to deny Bryan Mbeumo. In truth, that was United's best chance of the game, which was a credit to the resilience of Enzo Maresca's side.
Nobody quite knew what to expect from City this season following Pep Guardiola's departure. The opening match of the campaign against Arsenal in the Community Shield suggested that City were a long way off competing for the Premier League title.
However, four games into the Premier League season, it is the Blues and the Gunners who have the only 100 per cent records in the top flight. Arsenal lead the way with a goal difference one better than City's thanks to a 2-0 win at Sunderland on Saturday night.
Maresca's side face Norwich in the Carabao Cup on Thursday night before hosting Sunderland ahead of the three-week international break. After that, it is a tough trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.
City's title credentials will be put to the test before and after the break, but do you think they can win the league? Have your say in the poll below: