![Foden Haaland Man City beat Man United](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2024/03/AP24063639461492-scaled.jpg)
Teammate Phil after scoring his team's third goal in the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Manchester, England. Manchester City's Erling Haaland (right) celebrates with Foden. (Mike) Egerton/Penn State via AP)
MANCHESTER, England — Phil Foden led Manchester City's fightback after Erling Haaland's stunning miss in a one-sided derby that exposed the rift between the Premier League rivals on Sunday. We won 3-1 against United.
City took a 1-0 lead at half-time thanks to Marcus Rashford's sharp long-range shot in the eighth minute and a brilliant miss from the prolific Haaland from just two meters out.
Foden equalized in the 56th minute with a rising drive after Haaland missed, and he succeeded in the 80th minute with a low shot from an inside pass from Julian Alvarez.
Read: Manchester City celebrate as Euro win drains Club World Cup drama
„I always felt he would score goals. Now he is winning games,“ City manager Josep Guardiola said of Foden. Foden is a 23-year-old England forward and his double takes him to a career-high 17 goals in all competitions this season.
„He's the player of the season…no one has been more decisive for us this season than him.“
There was still time for Haaland to atone for his mistake by capitalizing on a defensive lapse and scoring City's third goal in added time with his 27th shot of the game.
His 6th goal of Derby Day capped off the victory! 💫@ErlingHaaland 👏 pic.twitter.com/2sIxWKed1I
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 3, 2024
Haaland celebrated with Foden before collapsing to the ground in mock relief after scoring his league-best 18th goal of the season. Last season, the pair each scored a hat-trick in City's 6-3 win over United, another blow to their rivals.
City, who are in second place, have fallen to just one point behind Liverpool, with 11 games left in the race for the title. If Arsenal beat Sheffield United on Monday as expected, there will once again be a two-point gap between the three main title contenders.
Read: Man City comfortably win Club World Cup final, must cope without Haaland
United, on the other hand, are on the back foot in the race for Champions League qualification. Victories between fourth-placed Aston Villa and fifth-placed Tottenham on Saturday left United six points behind Spurs and 11 points behind Villa.
The lopsided nature of the match meant that Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos management company is in charge of United's football operations, has suspended his job of returning the club to being an English and English powerhouse as part of his appointment as billionaire co-owner. I showed that I was doing it. european game.
He spoke last week about „knocking City and Liverpool off their perches“ in three years. That may be optimistic based on this evidence.
United were on the back foot at the Etihad Stadium, and the game was played mainly in the visitors' half, much like an FA Cup match between a top-flight team and a lower-league opponent. City had 74% of possession overall, but United only had one shot on target – Rashford.
Still, United could have held on until Foden scored a wonderful opener. And even that goal was debatable, with United manager Erik ten Hag claiming that Kyle Walker had fouled Rashford for a foul before City could break forward and score the equaliser. I was furious that it wasn't there.
„(The feel) may have been soft, but there was contact,“ Ten Hag said.
Moments after Ten Hag threw his water bottle on the ground, Foden's shot sailed past Andre Onana.
Another draw two weeks after City's 1-1 draw at home to Chelsea would have dealt a serious blow to the team's chances of winning an unprecedented fourth straight league title, but Foden and Haaland were soon to be forced into action. assured me that this would not happen.
City will therefore travel to Anfield next Sunday for a crushing game at the back of Liverpool's side, potentially dealing a major blow to the title race. City are unbeaten in 19 games in all competitions since losing 1-0 to Villa on December 6th.
It's a record United can only dream of as things stand, with Ratcliffe embarking on a strong rebuild.
One positive for United was Onana's performance. Onana made a series of great saves in the second half to thwart City, but could do little to break through Foden.
The other thing was the quality of Rashford's goals. Onana's long clearance left Bruno Fernandes behind the City defense before lightning struck from 30 meters out.
But from then on it was one-way traffic and United were unable to stem the tide.