Manchester City are back to winning ways, while Manchester United find themselves back at square one.
City produced a commanding performance in the 197th Manchester derby on Sunday, cruising to a 3-0 victory and delivering another humbling blow to United under coach Ruben Amorim.
The Etihad Stadium witnessed a near rout as City’s relentless attack threatened to run riot, leaving the red half of Manchester scrambling for answers.
Phil Foden set the tone early with a towering header in the 18th minute, and Erling Haaland sealed the result with two second-half goals, narrowly missing a third after striking the post.
The Norwegian now boasts seven goals in a week, building on his five-goal haul for Norway against Moldova on Tuesday.
The win ended City’s brief two-game skid, offering Pep Guardiola’s side renewed confidence after a shaky start to the season. For Amorim, however, the problems are mounting. United’s campaign has already been rocked by a humiliating League Cup exit to fourth-tier Grimsby, and Sunday’s derby defeat underscores a widening gap between the city’s rivals.
After the match, Amorim addressed United fans.
“I will do everything, always thinking about what is best for the club,” he said. “I really want to win games, so I’m suffering more than them.”
In Sunday’s other Premier League game, Mohamed Salah scored a stoppage-time penalty as Liverpool beat Burnley 1-0 to move back to the top of the standings.
United’s latest setback came in front of co-owner Jim Ratcliffe, who hired Amorim last year to return the 20-time English champions to the summit of European soccer and backed him heavily in the summer transfer market.
Any comeback feels a long way off right now.
United has won just once in five games in all competitions this season – a 3-2 victory against Burnley, which required a stoppage-time penalty from Bruno Fernandes.
Amorim has won only eight of 31 Premier League games since his appointment last November. Under his watch, United endured its lowest finish in the modern era last season, placing 15th.
“It’s not a record that you should have at Manchester United,” he admitted, but the coach remains adamant about his approach. “When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man. I believe in my way, and I’m going to play my way until I want to change.”
He added: “I see that we are doing better, but the results don’t show that.”
Despite Amorim’s words, four points from four games mark United’s worst start to a season since 1992.
Haaland has been lethal for club and country this season. In six games for City and Norway combined, he has scored 11 goals, failing to find the net only in a 2-0 loss to Tottenham last month.
He produced clinical finishes in the 53rd and 68th minutes against United, outrunning the defense. He could have completed a hat trick, but another effort slid across goal and struck the post.
Teammate Phil Foden described it as a “complete performance,” while Guardiola called Haaland a “special player.”
Liverpool left it late again to reclaim the Premier League lead. Mohamed Salah converted a stoppage-time penalty as the defending champions edged Burnley 1-0.
“We don’t give up. We just try to push ourselves and our team to the limit,” Salah told Sky Sports.
After late winners against Bournemouth and Newcastle earlier this season, Liverpool staged another dramatic finale at Turf Moor. Arne Slot’s team looked set to drop points for the first time this season, but a handball by Hannibal Mejbri in the box gave Liverpool a lifeline.
Referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot, and Salah fired a powerful penalty past Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The goal gave Salah sole possession of fourth place on the Premier League all-time scorers list with 188 goals, trailing only Alan Shearer (260), Harry Kane (213), and Wayne Rooney (208).
Late joy for Liverpool was yet more late pain for Burnley, which lost 3-2 to Manchester United in its previous game. According to Premier League statistician Opta, Liverpool is the first team in the division to score winning goals in the final 10 minutes or later in four consecutive games.
Time will tell if the late victories indicate a winning mentality or mask deeper issues for a team that often relies on last-minute interventions.
Against a 10-man Burnley after Lesley Ugochukwu’s 84th-minute red card, Liverpool needed Mejbri’s error to secure the points, with the midfielder handling Jeremie Frimpong’s cross.
“We needed a moment of luck, or a moment of magic. We didn’t have the magic, but we had the luck,” Slot told the BBC. “You are hoping and trying to make it more difficult, but they were strong.”
