At the end of this match as Manchester City’s players soaked up the applause Erling Haaland tossed the match ball he had grabbed at the final whistle to Phil Foden.
It seemed fair not only on account the pair had both bagged hat-tricks in this stunning Manchester derby rout. But also because at the rate Haaland is going he will not have room in his personal trophy cabinet for the awards and mementoes that will come his way this season.
A third hat-trick for City’s summer signing taking his tally to 14 in eight Premier League games is remarkable enough following triple strikes against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. Yet he embroidered this performance by providing two beautiful assists to help Foden to his first hat-trick for his boyhood club.
A 6-3 scoreline did scant justice to the dominance of this display and United’s three consolation goals from the hour mark will have annoyed manager Pep Guardiola. Yet even the great perfectionist himself will struggle to criticise a display from not only the goalscoring duo but Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish which tied United into knots for the majority of this game.
City’s movement was irresistible, the flanks a blur of interchanging and overlapping players which left ten Hag’s plans in tatters. And this was a team who were supposedly in form and improving.
United had won three out of their last four here in all competitions and came into this game in good nick having won their last four Premier League outings. Yet none of those have been against a side as devastating as Manchester City and none of those sides have come up against a finisher as hot as Haaland.
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Erik Ten Hag’s men were given an early indication of just how torrid an afternoon they were in for on three minutes when twice having to clear off their lines in a goalmouth melee which saw De Bruyne denied by David De Gea and a Bernardo follow up blocked by Scott McTominay.
For the next 42 minutes the percussion continued as United were hammered relentlessly. By half time they were four down, it was game over and Haaland had been instrumental. United can point to the fact that they won the second half 3-2 but it would be clutching at the flimsiest of straws given the battering they took.
However the scoreline is dressed up for Ten Hag this was a more bruising first attempt at the derby than either David Moyes or Ralf Rangnick who lost 4-1 in their first visit. If a realistic view of how far they have to travel was needed this provided it after victories over Liverpool and Arsenal gave a false perspective.
This was a City side missing key players as well with John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kalvin Phillips and Rodri all absent from the starting line up. It mattered not one jot Foden opened the scoring on eight minutes and the goals kept coming at regular intervals thereafter.
Haaland headed his first goal direct from a corner rising above McTominay just after the half hour, followed up with a brilliant stretching finish from de Bruyne’s assist three minutes later and completed his hat trick converting Sergio Gomez’s square pass just atfer the hour.
In between Foden added a second just before halftime and a third – both laid on by Haaland, the first with a raking left to right ball buried at the far post and the second a neat defence-splitting through ball.
Antony crashed in a superb solo effort and Anthony Martial two late on, the second from the penalty spot after Joao Cancelo had tripped him. Yet it was City and Haaland’s day once again – a player who has already made a mockery of any adjustment to the Premier League and one who has not just hit the ground running but is threatening to leave a mark which at this rate will not be erased for decades.
