short pants. It is not clear if perfection really exists in football (just ask Pep Guardiola).
In a sunny league, Manchester City came close.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, light blue sympathizers since childhood, have done most things right. The United States are all completely wrong.
The opening 45 minutes at the Etihad Stadium was an overshoot, a show of strength, a showdown, you name it.
Already two minutes later, right-back Diogo Dalot received a warning and moments later also left-back Terrell Malacia. It soon became clear that Manchester United He had no idea how to stop Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden or Erling Haaland. The red-clad players were floundering on the grass and were always (at least) ten paces behind.
Unacceptable, Eric Ten Hag then muttered.
United didn’t pull in the same direction
The manager added that there was a big difference between United’s 0-4 loss to Brentford and United’s 3-6 loss to City today: there was a lack of running meters at the Getek Community Stadium. He lost faith in the derby.
It may be, but apart from the lack of attitude, United’s players didn’t go in the same direction from the start. A 4–2–3–1 formation with Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay as midfielders became extra players when City began treatment. Foot widened to the right and grills placed on top of Malacia (which was taken off for Luke Shaw after halftime), Bernardo Silva was everywhere on the field, De Bruyne submitted and Haaland starved.
See how many offensive abilities to highlight? This is why City are a threat to the competition segment Premier League. Even if Haaland and Foden honor tomorrow’s papers, much is worth celebrating. Like Nathan Ake, the centre-back is often accused of being too ordinary, but he proved to be extremely important when Pep Guardiola’s injury problems piled up.
The Spaniard collapsed from frustration in his usual fashion on two occasions during the first half, despite his dominance. Sometimes it’s hard to be perfect.
De Bruyne’s ruthless weapon
Haaland’s arrival means, in addition to goals, that City will use another ruthless weapon. De Bruyne’s handing of the Norwegian’s 3-0 goal was goosebumps despite the pleasant autumn temperature in Manchester, an example of a reckless Belgian wizard on his feet.
When Guardiola used the False Nine, De Bruyne often ended up at the top of the field. Now the player gets an outlet for his unrivaled passing qualities in the areas just outside the penalty area. Haaland is not slow to take advantage of his teammates’ performance (191 touchdowns and 14 goals says a lot) and in the 64th minute completed his hat-trick in a row at home.
Then it ends perfectly
The light blue fans turned their backs to the field, put their arms around each other’s shoulders and jumped to the beat of the cheerleading song. At that point, the stand was not far from half full, many United fans had already given up in the first half. Foden didn’t want it to be worse, scoring his third goal with a quarter of an hour left, after which he hoped Haaland would be kind enough to let him get the match ball (“He already has a little…”).
United’s three goals polished the numbers, but two of them came when Guardiola used all five substitutions for another one… Calling the players “Aymeric Laporte” or “Ryad Mahrez” or “Julian Alvarez” is of course an insult to these great players, but that is Manchester City in Fall 2022. If they are released, given roofs and allowed to play football, it will most likely end up being perfect.