After falling behind 2-1 against Manchester United, Man City rallied thanks to two goals from Phil Foden and a miraculous strike from Marcus Rashford.
Report and free highlights of Manchester City’s 3-1 comeback victory over Manchester United following Marcus Rashford’s miracle goal, thanks to goals from Phil Foden (2) and Erling Haaland. City now trail Liverpool by just one point thanks to Pep Guardiola’s victory.
By Adam Bate, of ghostgoal.com, commentator and analyst
Manchester City rallied from a goal down to defeat Manchester United 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium thanks to two second-half goals from Phil Foden.
United maintained their lead until halftime thanks to a thundering long shot by Marcus Rashford and an unbelievable miss by Erling Haaland from considerably closer range. Erik ten Hag’s squad had taken an improbable lead in the Manchester derby. And yet, they were unable to maintain their grip.
Foden set City up for the lead with a low finish after finding his own magnificent strike. Ending United’s record of 143 Premier League games without losing when leading at halftime, Haaland scored in stoppage time to more accurately reflect his team’s advantage.
Even though Ten Hag had a strategy that worked for over an hour and had some close calls that went against him, City still came out on top. With this win, Pep Guardiola’s squad is now 19 games undefeated and within a point of league leaders Liverpool, whom they will face next Sunday (airing at 3.45pm on Sky Sports).
Ederson(6), Walker(6), Stones(7), Dias(5), Ake(7), Rodri(8), De Bruyne(7), Bernardo(7), Foden(9), Doku(6), Haaland (6) are the Manchester City players listed.
Replacements: Alvarez (7), Bobb (n/a).
Here is the Manchester United starting lineup: Onana(7), Dalot(6), Varane(7), Evans(6), Lindelof(6), Mainoo(6), Casemiro(6), McTominay(5), Fernandes(6), Rashford(7), Garnacho (5).
Forson (6), Antony (5), Kambwala (5), Amrabat (4), and substitutes used.
Phil Foden was named the match’s MVP.
What happened during a thrilling derby
After Rashford’s early goal stunned City, it was clear why Ten Hag had said that Rashford might be unbeatable when he was on his game. Bruno Fernandes was brought onside by Nathan Ake to receive a long ball from Andre Onana, and Rashford finished it.
In a scathing rebuttal to his detractors, United found a reason to hold on to the lead, which they maintained for the remainder of the first half despite relentless City pressure on Onana’s goal. In the first half, Guardiola’s team had 18 shots.
The best opportunity to equalize came when Haaland, near the conclusion of the first half, made an enigmatic miss. The striker had to do nothing more than deflect Foden’s measured header into the empty net from close range, but Haaland somehow managed to lift the ball over the bar.
Something more unique, and even controversial, was required to take it to the next level. The decision not to award Rashford a free-kick following Kyle Walker’s tug on the shoulder infuriated Ten Hag, who threw his water bottle on the ground in protest. When Foden scored a few seconds later, he was enraged.
Unlike Rashford, who was substituted with the score still tied, Foden continued to play after that, matching his finish with his England teammate at the opposite end. He then teamed up with Julian Alvarez to knock out Onana low to his left after moving to the left.
United appeared depleted, their strategy thwarted. Nonetheless, the eight minutes of added time that appeared on the board caused considerable concern. Soon after, Rodri evicted Sofyan Amrabat and set up Haaland for his ill-fated aim.
According to Ten Hag, there were two pivotal moments: the one just before the equalizer and the one just before the winner, when Ederson almost got there first to rush on Alejandro Garnacho. United were on the defensive the whole game, and the outcome simply hinted at City’s superiority.
Timeline of predicted goals in Man City’s 3-1 victory over Man Utd
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Timeline of predicted goals in Man City’s 3-1 victory over Man Utd
Phil Foden, the match-winning player
According to Kyle Walker, who spoke to Sky Sports, “Phil has been nothing short of first class” this season. To himself, that is the bar he sets. His boss expects him to perform at that level. That is now something he must maintain.
We refer to Phil as ‘The Sniper’ because to his fondness for shooting. You can tell he has the poise and skill to choose his location when he steps in on his left foot. He was really brilliant in his goal-scoring.
Important players are needed, and we rely on him. He puts in the time and effort to practice. He is achieving his goals and enjoying the fruits of his labor.
Foden is among the top, according to Guardiola.
Phil Foden’s outstanding performance earned him the title of player of the season, according to Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola replied, “He is, right now, this season, one of the best.” when asked if Foden is clearly a top-tier Premier League player.
According to him, even throughout training, he had a gut sense that he would find the back of the net. And now he’s winning games. One must win games in order to be considered a world-class player.
No matter what position he plays, he has a great work ethic; football is his life, and he is finally starting to win games.
His performance against Bournemouth was outstanding. He started to feel nervous after he missed the initial opportunity to beat [Andre] Onana. He will get wisdom from that, because it is related to his age.
Defender Ten Hag stands firm for Manchester United presentation
Despite losing 1-0 to Man City, Erik Ten Hag praised his team’s performance.
“The players gave it their all,” Ten Hag informed Sky Sports. “Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford were not at full strength when we took the field. They sacrificed everything as a unit. This is a superb performance. Obviously, the result has left us feeling let down.
They battled as a unit, and the performance was top-notch as well. We could have come out on top had it been a different day. Margin calls. I agree. In both instances, we were defeated, even if Rashford and Garnacho are through and we have the opportunity to score a second goal.
During his subsequent remarks at the news conference, the United chief restated these points. According to him, the game did not show how wide the gap was between the two camps. We nevertheless managed to seize an opportunity despite our numerous ailments.
Extremely slim margins, he continued. A second goal was within our reach. We can be competitive when everyone is on board, and it’s not that big of a deal. “City is the best team in the world right now,” you should remember.
City will track you down, Keane.
The suitability of Erik Ten Hag for Manchester United is a topic of contention between Roy Keane and Gary Neville.
“I cannot be too hard on Manchester United today as City were just brilliant,” stated Roy Keane, a former United captain, discussing the match with Sky Sports.
They demonstrated their status as champions. Well, United has lost 11 games in a row in the league. What City does is they discover all your flaws, and that is a terrifying statistic.
When the going gets tough on the pitch, there’s nowhere to hide. As in boxing, it’s like this. The city drained them dry.
The future of this United team is uncertain as a result. City, who was playing with them, prevented them from getting near him in the last quarter of an hour.
They were merely clinging on till it was men vs. boys. You start to wonder if it’s four or five as the game progresses.
“There are still question marks of this team and unfortunately of the manager.”
An analysis of Man City’s derby victory
For the Premier League, this was Manchester City’s first ever come-from-behind victory over Manchester United. The fifteen games in a row that they trailed Manchester United in the league prior to today, they had lost each occasion.
United had not lost a Premier League game after taking a halftime lead since September 2014 (5-3) against Leicester. This ended a streak of 143 games without a loss when leading at halftime since then.
With 18 shots in the first half, Manchester City tied the record for most shots faced by United since Opta began tracking this in 2003–04.
Phil Foden has surpassed his previous best of 16 goals in a season with 18 for Manchester City this season across all competitions.
Only once in Premier League history (dating back to 2003–04) have Manchester United attempted less shots in a single game than their three in this match (against Liverpool in April 2022).
Then what?
On Wednesday (kick off 8pm), Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen in the Champions League second leg, with an aggregate advantage of 3-1. On Sunday, at 3.45pm, Sky Sports will air a game that could be pivotal in the title battle, as the focus shifts to Liverpool.
Next Saturday, at 12:30 pm, Manchester United will play host to Everton in a Premier League match.
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