Haaland celebrating
Haaland (Jose Breton- Pics Action, Shutterstock)

Haaland the Hero as Man City Humble United

Ahead of the first Manchester derby of the 2025/26 season, neither City nor United had made a particularly impressive start. So when the sides met at the Etihad on Sunday, 14th September, the pressure was on both sides to put in a performance and get a positive result. As it turned out, it was Manchester City who stepped up to the mark, with Erling Haaland once again putting in a starring performance.

As for United, fans were once again left scratching their heads and wondering how their side might turn things around… or whether it might be time to take drastic action and replace Ruben Amorim as manager. Let’s take a look back at how Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens got the better of the Red Devils.

Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United, 14th September 2025


Fresh from his impressive five-goal haul for Norway in his country’s 11-1 thrashing of Moldova last week, Haaland was clearly in decent nick coming into this match. But, after a relatively calm opening quarter of an hour of the game, it was actually Phil Foden who opened the scoring for City after 18 minutes. The England man headed past Altay Bayındır after a fine run from City’s Jérémy Doku, who appears to be making solid improvements to his game.

The goal marked a period of dominance for the home side, but they couldn’t add to their lead before the break, and United created the better chances as the half-time whistle neared. And it was United who were on the front foot when the sides came back out, but City’s defence weathered the mini-storm. Then it was time for Haaland to make his mark, as the Norwegian ran onto a pass from Doku and used great strength to hold off Luke Shaw and finish deftly after 53 minutes.

Things were relatively even between the sides (aside from the scoreline!) for the next 15 minutes, before Haaland was once again put through on goal and – once again – made no mistake to make it 3-0 to the home side. After that, United appeared to wake up a bit and spent much of the final half hour of the game in City’s half. Unfortunately, when they created chances, they were unable to take them, and despite having 12 shots, only two were on target. And with an xG of 1.51, United underperformed on the scoring front, while City surpassed their xG of 2.52. Ultimately, that was the difference between the sides, and although the 3-0 scoreline arguably flatters Pep’s men, the clinical nature of the victory will please the Spaniard (and worry Amorim).

What Went Wrong for Man United?

Paul Pogo looking worried
vverve, Bigstockphoto

It was never going to be easy for Manchester United to visit their near neighbours and get a result. But United fans were desperate to see their team showing signs of progress under Amorim and for them to at least compete with City. On certain metrics, the visitors could be said to have held their own in the match, and actually came out of the match having enjoyed more possession than Pep’s men (54.7% to City’s 45.3%), which is not something many teams manage at the Etihad. The problem for Amorim’s side was that they couldn’t convert that possession into goals.

United have scored just four goals in four Premier League games after this one, which probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise, as they scored an average of just 1.16 goals per game over the course of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign. As mentioned, United underperformed in relation to their xG, and despite creating almost as many chances as City (12 to City’s 13), a combination of bad luck and poor finishing meant they simply couldn’t score, despite spending a small fortune on attacking talent over the summer.

United are now 14th in the table with just four points (and four goals) from their opening four games. And there are no easy games on the horizon with Chelsea visiting Old Trafford on Sunday and then a trip to a stubborn Brentford side the week after that. Whether Amorim will still be in the dugout by the time the Red Devils visit current champions Liverpool on 19th October remains to be seen. But if they don’t start improving very soon, he might be on his way out of the club.

Is Haaland Back to His Best?


Haaland has now got five goals in four Premier League games, so if he maintains that rate through the top-flight season, he’ll be getting close to the 36-goal haul he managed in 35 EPL games in the 2022/23 campaign. He got a total of 52 goals in 54 games for City in all competitions that season, and followed up with 38 in 45 games in all competitions the following term (with 27 in 31 Premier League matches). His scoring stats dropped off a little last season, as would be expected given City’s underperformance in general, but he still got a very respectable total of 22 Premier League goals in 31 games (and 34 in 48 games in all competitions).

But this season, Haaland appears to have rediscovered his scoring touch and seems even more driven and determined than ever. His ruthless streak of five goals in a single game for Norway showed how sharp he is at present, and there is little doubt he’ll want to help propel his side to success this term. Ultimately, if Haaland manages to avoid injuries, there is a decent chance he’ll break 30 Premier League goals once again, and that would certainly help Guardiola’s side as they attempt to get back on terms with Liverpool, who have won all four of their Premier League games this term.

Last term, Haaland was only the third-highest goalscorer in England’s top flight, with Mohamed Salah leading the way on 29 goals for Liverpool and Alexander Isak – then of Newcastle but now at Liverpool – with 23 goals. Having won the Golden Boot in the two seasons before that, Haaland will certainly want to finish at the top of the pile again this time around. And the way he’s started the current campaign, he’s got a great chance of achieving that aim.

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