That’s all for today. Thanks for your company and emails; goodnight.
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The City manager Enzo Maresca says “it could be a red card” for Phil Foden but that it “could also be a red card” for Bruno Fernandes.
Lisandro Martinez's reaction
He was offside. I went to [Enzo Fernandez] because he was there in front of me, and that’s why Haaland was free [to score]. I want to be calm, I want to control myself but it’s so hard. Every season they come to our club, they explain the rules for an hour and a half, and they look so confident.
And then you have five or six people making this mistake. It’s unacceptable because this is the best league in the world. And now we have to go home with this injustice.
[If Enzo isn’t there, you go to Haaland?] Exactly. Simple as that. Let’s see what they say now – I want to hear them [justify] the decision.
The Premier League Match Centre have tweeted that Enzo Fernandez wasn’t offside because he didn’t play the ball. The law is a bit more complicated than that – there is a reference to impacting an opponent – but I’m sure Howard Webb and friends will clear it up in the next 24 hours.
Man City reaction
Erling Haaland
It’s kind of a new experience to win with 10 men – and it’s amazing! We had to lay low at times, which is not ideal, but to keep the ball and win with 10 men at Old Trafford… that’s personality.
We need fighters in the team and we have plenty of those. Look at our midfield! If there’s one thing they like to do, it’s to fight. I’m so, so proud of everyone. I think we became even sharper when we went down to 10 men.
I normally don’t go offside so I thought there might have been a flick. I said to Michael Oliver, I kind of take it personally because I don’t run offside!
It’s always nice to win football games, don’t get me wrong, but to win at Old Trafford with 10 men… it’s so nice.
[On Donnarumma’s late intervention] What a save! He’s like a wolf back there.
Elliot Anderson
[You did say City were the kings of Manchester…] Yeah, we are now. What happened with Phil wasn’t great but we said at half-time that it would make it even better if we win. We had to run more, fight more, and to a man I thought we were brilliant.
It was my first Manchester derby so to start like that is brilliant. It’s a new era so to start like in the derby is great. We’re all really happy.
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Match report: Man Utd 0-1 Man City
“Enzo, Enzo, Enzo, in your head” was how delirious Manchester City fans regaled Enzo Fernández who after a star role in a memorable victory surely has instant cult hero status.
This 199th derby was won by Erling Haaland’s ninth strike in the fixture but the visitors’ totem was their new No 17. He was the key nuisance in a goal initially ruled out for offside and which VAR overturned when ruling Fernández was not distracting Lisandro Martínez when Josko Gvardiol’s ball came over. The Argentinian, too, was an emblem of the fight Enzo Maresca’s team carried to Manchester United after Phil Foden appeared to turn the game the hosts’ way on 22 minutes.
As he and Bruno Fernandes challenged along City’s right the forward kicked United’s captain around the midriff and Michael Oliver showed a red card, VAR backing the referee’s instantaneous decision.
Except, down to 10 men, Maresca refused to go for the draw, by shutting the back door with a defender for attacker, until late on, after Haaland’s finish – when Nico O’Reilly replaced Fernández to help see it out.
On Sky Sports, Micah Richards and Roy Keane agree that Enzo Fernandez distracted Lisandro Martinez and that Erling Haaland’s goal should therefore have been disallowed. But we should stress, and Keane does, that Haaland’s finish was majestic.
Erling Haaland beats the turf and growls with delight. Enzo Maresca skips down the touchline and clenches his both fists in the direction of the away end. That’s a mighty victory for City, who made light of Phil Foden’s early red card to give United a bit of a lesson in composure, authority and patience.
Erling Haaland’s winning goal will be debated to within an inch of its life, but that shouldn’t obscure how well City played – or how underwhelming United were for most of the match. They’ve had a nightmare start to the season; City are flying.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Man City | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | Hull | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Brighton | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | Brentford | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Everton | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Ipswich | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Leeds | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Man Utd | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 4 | -5 | 3 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | -5 | 2 |
| 18 | Fulham | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 19 | Aston Villa | 4 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Coventry | 4 | -10 | 0 |
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Full time: Man Utd 0-1 Man City
City are the kings of Manchester – for this weekend, and at least until the return fixture in March.
90+5 min: Great save by Donnarumma!
World-class goalkeeping. Fernandes knifes City open with a through pass to Mbeumo, who whacks a right-foot shot that is pawed over by the diving Donnarumma. Mbeumo could have done better – he should have driven it low rather than high – but Donnarumma’s reactions were outrageous.
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90+2 min Gary Neville gives the player of the match award to Elliot Anderson, who has walked the talk in midfield. He was a bit frantic early on but has played with control, authority and fierce determination since Foden’s red card.
90+1 min Cunha’s cross is headed away with authority by the flying Guehi. He and Dias have been superb at centre-back.
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90 miun Five minutes addedd time. That feels light because the check for the goal took three minutes on its own.
88 min A brainless challenge from Dorgu gives City another free-kick. United have lost the head a bit. They’re facing a second defeat in four Premier League games; last season they lost two in 17 under Michael Carrick.
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86 min Cunha’s shot spins behind off Guehi. Mbeumo’s corner is headed just wide by Maguire – an excellent effort, because he was moving away from goal to meet the ball, but one Donnarumma had covered.
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85 min United need to get the ball before they can do anything with it. Right now, City are keeping it with an ease that shouldn’t be possible when it’s 10 v 11.
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82 min: Man Utd substitution Joshua Zirkzee replaces Marcus Rashford, which means Matheus Cunha will move to the left. United need more subtlety in the final third because they don’t really look like scoring, though I’m slightly surprised Michael Carrick has gone for Zirkzee rather than Mason Mount.
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81 min: City substitution Nico O’Reilly replaces Enzo Fernandez, who is booed off. He’s not a popular chap in this country but he played superbly, particularly after half-time.
80 min: VAR check for a City penalty Enzo Fernandez went over after a clash of legs with Maguire, who thought it was a dive and got a bit handsy. Hmm, Maguire did dangle a trailing leg, but Fernandez was probably looking for it too.
Either way, both players have been booked and there’s no penalty for City.
80 min “Marcus Rashford’s attitude has been absolutely fascinating since he came back to us,” writes Christopher Faherty. “Clearly didn’t want to return, knows he has to perform to get away, so he’s this mix of fed-up, grimly determined and resigned. He looks 17, 28 and 2,000 years-old all at once, each emotional stage washing in and blending with the other. It’s captivating to watch.”
79 min Gvardiol is booked for delaying the restart.
79 min September is way too early for an as-it-stands league table, so here it is.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Man City | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | Hull | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Brighton | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 7 |
78 min Enzo Fernandez buys City a bit of time by drawing a foul from Dorgu. Whatever his part in the goal, he’s had an outstanding second half.
76 min Apart from a 10-minute period at the start of the second half, City have probably been the better team since Foden was sent off. And they should be 2-0 up because Haaland has just missed a terrific chance. Enzo Fernandez curled a low free-kick from the right that was poked wide by the stretching Haaland, eight yards out. Guehi was also in there but I think the touch came from Haaland.
73 min Dalot’s deflected cross is headed across goal and wide by the leaping Mbeumo. A chance, but not an easy one because he was at full stretch.
72 min There’s another argument against the award of the City goal, which is that Enzo Fernandez put off Lisandro Martinez, thus allowing the ball to reach Haaland. I have no opinion either way.
71 min Sesko’s long-range shot hits Dias and spins behind for a United corner. It’s swung deep, headed back by Maguire and claimed by Donnarumma.
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70 min A dipping long-range shot from Fernandes is pushed away by the sprawling Donnarumma. Apparently that’s United’s first shot on target since the Foden red card.
68 min: Enzo Fernandez hits the post!
Haaland finds Enzo Fernandez in space 25 yards from goal. He shapes a trademark curler that is shovelled against the right-hand post by the diving Lammens!
68 min: Man Utd substitution Benjamin Sesko for Youri Tielemans. No time to dwell on that, because…
68 min The official verdict is that Dorgu’s outstretched foot played Haaland onside. The reason for the delay was that the VAR team needed to check whether Enzo Fernandez, who was palpably offside, made any contact as he dived towards the ball.
67 min United started the second half excellently but they look shell-shocked at the moment.
65 min That’s already Haaland’s ninth goal for City against United, one short of the record held by Franny Lee and Joe Hayes.
64 min The angle of TV replays can somehow make players appear to be offside when they’re not. That must be what happened here with Haaland.
Gvardiol’s cross from the left side of the area ricocheted off a Man Utd defender, Dorgu I think, and flew towards the far post. Enzo Fernandez, who was definitely offside, missed an attempted diving header and Haaland adjusted his body to cushion a half-volley over Lammens. That’s a quietly brilliant finish.
Updated
GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Man City (Haaland 60)
The goal stands! Haaland looked offside to the naked eye, but VAR have given the goal! It was a fantastic finish, half-volleyed over Lammens from a very tight angle.
Updated
VAR check ongoing Maybe he wasn’t offside…
60 min: Haaland has a goal disallowed! Gvardiol’s deflected cross is finished expertly at the far post by Haaland, but he was fractionally offside so the goal won’t cut out.
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58 min United’s main attacking options are Benjamin Sesko and Mason Mount. City’s options, attacking or otherwise, includes Nico O’Reilly, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Mateo Kovacic.
56 min United are putting City under sustained pressure for the first time. Cunha receives the ball in a bit of space, the space beloved of all false nines, veers away from a defender and splashes a shot over the bar from 18 yards. Decent effort but maybe he should have tried to find a teammate.
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52 min Moments later, Rashford’s shot from the angle is deflected into the side netting.
51 min: Mainoo hits the post!
Dalot and Fernandes combine to tee up Mainoo, who takes a touch and cracks a dipping, curling shot from 25 yards. It hits the left post, rebounds off the back off Donnarumma and then ricochets to safety. That was a beautiful effort from Mainoo, a player who is enjoying himself again after a miserable summer.
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50 min City win a corner when Ruben Dias’s header deflects behind. Nothing comes of it but they’ve made a relatively comfortable start to the second half.
47 min City brought on Iliman Ndiaye for Rayan Cherki at half-time. These are the revised teams.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Dorgu; Tielemans, Mainoo; Mbeumo, B Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha.
Man City (4-4-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Ndiaye, Anderson, Fernandez, Semenyo; Haaland.
46 min The second half is under way.
The Fernandes kick My interpretation – and this is a live blog, not a judicial review, so mind the abuse please – is that, though Bruno Fernandes may well have intended to kick Phil Foden in the back, there was more than enough ambiguity for him to escape a red card. There was no such ambiguity with Foden’s reaction.
Fernandes was kicking towards a ball that was available a split-second earlier, before Foden fell in front of it. Even if it was deliberate, there was nowhere near enough evidence to suggest it was a clear and obvious error. That said, had Fernandes been sent off on the field, there probably wouldn’t have been enough evidence for VAR to overturn to the decision.
Also, it’s a game of football, and Claude is going to kill us all so who cares.
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Marc Guehi talks to Sky Sports
[On the red card] I didn’t see nothing. My only job is to focus on what’s next.
Roy Keane’s verdict (via Sky Sports)
I don’t think that’s a red card for Foden. To me, Bruno’s the one who’s violent here. Foden is a bit daft, but so is Bruno. You can’t be rolling around [like Fernandes]; they’re all members of the PFA, you’ve got to look out for each other.
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Half-time reading
If you watched US television adverts during the World Cup for any length of time one thing just kept leaping out. I’ve mentioned this before here, but it still seems both jarring and significant. Every third or fourth rotation in that endless daytime scroll, in between the Chicken Megadeth Hyper-Box Family Meal Deal, either side of David Beckham expertly consuming a light beer, is an advert for antidepressants.
The format for these is always the same kind of thing: contented, wholesome people throwing frisbees, or strolling through a small-town antiques fair, while a warm, honeyed, reassuring voiceover talks about how horrifying their lives are, with the suggestion that only a lengthy course of Smileothorium can solve this.
In another world there would be a call to study this phenomenon, to consider why a nation of such dazzling abundance and opportunity should also feel glazed, worthless and deprived of hope. But this is not that world. More than 50 million Americans have depression. This is demand and supply in action, a battle for market share in a £6bn industry. The US often worries about itself in its post-industrial age. What are we now? What can we still make? Where is the new frontier? Well, human misery is looking pretty hot right now.
Half time: Man Utd 0-0 Man City
Phil Foden’s red card was the main event of an otherwise subdued first half at Old Trafford. Foden walked for a retaliatory kick at Bruno Fernandes, but City dealt well with the numerical disadvantage and had an equal share of the game. Marcus Rashford hit the post with a free-kick, but that aside United didn’t really threaten.
45+1 min Enzo Maresca is booked, presumably for offering an unsolicited opinion regarding the competence of the matchday officials.
45 min: Rashford hits the post!
The free-kick is slightly to the left of centre. Rashford clips a delicious effort over the wall and off the outside of the left-hand post. Donnarumma wouldn’t have saved it.
Updated
44 min Enzo Fernandez concedes a silly free-kick on Tielemans 25 yards from goal. United are having a decent spell as half-time approaches.
42 min Rashford runs at Nunes, who makes a smooth tackle just inside the area. He’s been excellent against an opponent who can give full-backs twisted blood.
“The bottom line,” begins Eric Peterson, “seems to be that Bruno Fernandes knew what he could get away with, and Phil Foden didn’t.”
Also: Fernandes acted, Foden reacted.
Updated
41 min Since the red card, City have had more possession and the only attempt at goal.
40 min “Commentators agree with you but I can’t see how that’s more than a yellow for both players,” says Andrew Clifford. “Fernandes kicks Foden twice while he’s on the ground, nowhere near the ball, and Foden’s kick was reined in with no chance of causing an injury.”
I know what you mean, but ultimately Foden studded him in the stomach. Retaliation always looks worse as well. Fernandes was, at least in theory, going for the ball.
Updated
36 min Semenyo skips past Dalot and blasts a low cross that spins behind for a corner off the stretching Tielemans.
34 min City have arguably played better since going down to 10 men. As Gary Neville says, they’re moving the ball more quickly than earlier in the game.
32 min Fernandes reverses a lovely through pass to Rashford, who can’t quite control it on the stretch. The ball runs towards goal and Donnarumma flies from his line to dive at Rashford’s feet.
City have switched Rayan Cherki to the right, by the way, so they’re playing without a No10.
30 min “Simon McMahon’s point has been fully borne out by the madness of Phil Foden,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “A couple of yellows earlier would have stopped this pot from boiling right over so early. Instead, here we are now, chaos fully embraced. But entertained, admittedly.”
I think Foden’s reaction would have been the same regardless. There are certainly some games in which the referee loses control by not showing early yellow cards, but this feels like an isolated incident.
28 min Here’s what happened with the Foden red card.
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Fernandes shoved Foden over from behind near the touchline.
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As Foden fell, Fernandes had a short kick at the loose ball but instead caught Foden. (The alternative interpretation is Fernandes knew full well he was going to catch Foden and used the location of the ball as an excuse.)
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Foden rolled backwards and pushed his studs into Fernandes’s stomach. It wasn’t especially violent, but by the laws of the game it constitutes violent conduct.
Updated
27 min A City corner is cleared as far as Cherki, whose chest-volley is well blocked by Mainoo near the penalty spot. That might have been sneaking in.
26 min Although that was a clear red card, I really feel for Foden, especially in the context of his struggles over the past couple of years.
City might feel doubly aggrieved because of the red card that should have been shown to Diogo Dalot on this ground in January.
25 min Foden doesn’t want to leave the field and is eventually told to do one by a hard-faced Erling Haaland.
Fernandes definitely had a kick at Foden and it’s a surprise he wasn’t booked. Foden’s response was instinctive, unwise and a clear red card.
Updated
VAR are checking this. Fernandes had a little kick at Foden, though in theory he was going for the ball. Foden rolled over and then shoved his studs into Fernandes’s stomach. Good luck getting away with that.
Updated
23 min: Phil Foden sent off!
Crikey, what’s happened here. Phil Foden has been given a straight red for lashing out at Bruno Fernandes.
Updated
22 min Dalot’s short backpass is read by Semenyo, who tries to find Haaland in the middle. But he doesn’t get enough on his lobbed cross, allowing Lammens – who was a long way from home – to claim.
At the other end, Enzo Fernandez makes a vital lunging tackle to stop Mbeum'o’s cross reaching Tielemans 12 yards from goal. He had to get that right.
21 min Rashford receives the ball from Cunha on the left side of the area, uses Dorgu by not using him and then cuts inside to hit a shot that is blocked at source by Nunes. Good defending.
United are the better team at the moment, though there isn’t a huge amount in it.
19 min A very dodgy touch from Bruno Fernandes goes straight to Haaland, who gallops towards the United area. Eventually he tries to find Cherki in space to his right and Martinez, well positioned on the edge of the area, intercepts.
Updated
18 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I’ve not seen it, but one of my pet hates is how a challenge like the one you describe by Maguire in the second minute might result in a stern talking to, but the same challenge, or less, would result in a certain booking if made in the 88th minute.
“I appreciate the nuance, and referees not wanting to card players too early, but I also think it might help the game if they did. Though it didn’t help Scotland when they had virtually the entire game to score against the 10 men of Uruguay at Mexico 86 and qualify for the knockouts, and couldn’t. Not that I’m still thinking about that 40 years later, of course.”
The peerless football historian Cris Freddi reckons the referee pulled out the wrong card, then bottled it. I think he might be right, although it backfired because it gave Uruguay impunity for the remaining 89 minutes.
17 min Mainoo’s delicious cross is headed high and wide by Rashford. It matters not, for he was offside.
16 min “Someone needs to tell Elliot Anderson that there’s a line between physicality (‘embracing the chaos’ as his boss calls it) and grievous bodily harm,” says Justin Kavanagh. “The referee preferably, but not so far…”
15 min Foden curves away from Dorgu on the right and moves into the area with purpose. Martinez comes across to make an important challenge.
Foden has a terrific derby record, albeit mostly at the Etihad.
13 min Quite a cagey start overall. Erling Haaland is yet to touch the ball.
11 min Cunha breaks into space from midfield, only to drag a miserable long-range shot well wide. He had better options right and certainly left.
11 min Mbeumo is flattened by Anderson, who looks a bit manic and is probably one foul away from a yellow card.
9 min After a slow start, United are starting to get on the ball. Fernandes clips a teasing pass over the defence towards Dalot, who makes a terrific run infield but can’t control the ball in mid-air. Had he done so, he would have had a shooting chance. But it would have been a tough ball for Diego Maradona to kill, never mind Diogo Dalot.
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7 min The resulting free-kick is taken on the right by Fernandes and retrieved on the far side by Rashford. He finds the supporting Martinez, who sweeps a left-foot shot from 25 yards; Donnarumma makes a comfortable save.
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6 min Rashford stays down holding his head after being sandwiched by Semenyo and Anderson. I think he was accidentally caught by Anderson as he fell.
Either way, he’s fine to continue.
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5 min Anderson’s first corner is headed behind for another. It’s taken short and worked across the field to Cherki on the right. His floated cross is eventually lumped clear by Dorgu.
3 min City have started well. Foden plays a perfectly timed lay off to Enzo Fernandez, whose shot from 20 yards hits Maguire and ricochets behind for a corner.
2 min And, as expected, Antoine Semenyo has started on the left for City with Phil Foden on the right.
Maguire chops Cherki down 40 yards from goal – a challenge which, in the opinion of Gary Neville on Sky, might have brought a yellow card had it not been so early in the contest.
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1 min United kick off from left to right as we watch. Sounds like a cracking atmosphere at Old Trafford.
United have started with Cunha as their false nine. No funny stuff from Michael Carrick.
“Manchester Utd have to be physical,” writes AnhTuan Nguyen Huynh. “With Benjamin Sesko on the bench, City won.”
I’d politely – nay, meekly – disagree. I think they need pace on the counter-attack for the first hour. Sesko is rapid but I don’t know whether his movement in transition is as good as the other options. I suspect, had Amad Diallo been fit, United would have started Mbeumo up front. They may yet do that, with Cunha roaming from the right.
Match report: Coventry 0-5 Brighton
The bare statistic is bleak: Coventry City are only the second team in Premier League history to lose their first four games of the season without scoring in any of them. “And yet …” will be the enduring message from Frank Lampard.
And yet they have caused problems for opposition teams – even at points when down to 10 men here against Brighton. And yet they have already faced three of the top flight’s European contingent. And yet they are not playing that badly. But they simply cannot find the point, or even the goal, that would give their confidence a much-needed boost. And it does not take long for a promoted club’s relegation fears to turn realistic.
Enzo Maresca’s pre-match thoughts
[What’s the key on derby day?] Probably to keep the emotion away, but that’s not easy. Embrace the chaos – it’s a derby, it’s nice – and try to play our game.
I’m happy because we have different options [on the bench]. He [Ayyoub Bouaddi] played very well against Porto and is going to bring up a lot of happiness.
Man Utd’s tactics Given the success of Bryan Mbeumo up front against City last season, there’s a case for United starting with Matheus Cunha on the left and the speedier Marcus Rashford up front. We’ll see.
Some more pre-match reading
If you’re a Manchester United fan, or just a fan of great writing, I heartily recommend United Writing, a Substack written by my colleague (and mentor) Tim de Lisle. Here’s the latest piece on Sabah, Youri Tielemans and more.
Brighton’s fourth goal was a screamer from Lewis Dunk, of all people, prompting this email from Steve Bradfield.
Is Brighton’s fourth goal a slam Dunk for goal of month?
Full time: Coventry 0-5 Brighton
Brighton are up to fourth after hammering the bottom club Coventry, who remain stuck on nil points and nil goals.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Man City | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 3 | Hull | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | Brighton | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | Brentford | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Everton | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Ipswich | 4 | -3 | 6 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Leeds | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | Nottm Forest | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Man Utd | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 4 | -5 | 3 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | -5 | 2 |
| 18 | Fulham | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| 19 | Aston Villa | 4 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Coventry | 4 | -10 | 0 |
Protest watch
Will Unwin, our man at Old Trafford, says the pre-match protests were “not as vociferous and well attended as previous protests”. Especially this one.
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Enzo Maresca has backed Elliot Anderson’s assessment that Manchester City are the “kings of Manchester” as he prepares for his first derby in charge of the club.
City travel to Old Trafford seeking to continue their perfect start to life under Maresca and further prove Anderson’s point. The 23-year-old midfielder made his claim on signing from Nottingham Forest for £116m in the summer and having witnessed City win eight Premier League titles during the past 14 years, compared with United’s one.
“I think Manchester City was unbelievable what they achieved. It’s normal when Elliot said that,” said Maresca. “If you go back it’s a different picture, but for me the reason he said that is because when he grew up Manchester City was dominant.”
Premier League latest: Coventry 0-3 Brighton “Feel free to just gloss over the other game today,” writes Eddy Nason. “Clearly nothing happening there (uncovers eyes to check how bad it’s getting).”
Yeah sorry, I’m not sure why we’re not covering that. But it’s a case of grim and grimmer for Coventry fans: their team are 3-0 down after 76 minutes and Taiwo Awoniyi has been sent off.
It was a sight the England press pack became increasingly used to seeing after the team’s World Cup matches over the summer. Kobbie Mainoo was invariably the first to leave the dressing room, walk through the mixed zone – eyes dead ahead, features impassive – and board the bus.
It was as if he could not get out of the stadiums quick enough and the further England progressed the more pronounced it started to feel. There was a real gap between Mainoo and the next England player to depart the stadium in the knockout rounds. The Manchester United midfielder is inscrutable, even in the heat of battle. It is part of his enviably unflappable temperament. It was no great leap to imagine what lay behind the mask – tremendous frustration as Thomas Tuchel kept on leaving him out.
Mainoo did not play a single minute at the tournament. He was an unused substitute all the way to the semi-final exit against Argentina, and when everyone expected to see him in the third-place playoff against France he did not make the bench. The Football Association said before the game he had picked up an unspecified injury.
For Mainoo it was a lost summer and yet it was physically and mentally draining all the same, what with the training and travel; the demand to stay focused as he waited and waited. .
Team news
United are without Luke Shaw, who has an unspecified injury, so Patrick Dorgu starts at left-back. So much for Michael Carrick repeating his tactics from the win over City in January; on that day Dorgu started as the left-sided attacker and scored the second goal. Dorgu for Shaw is the only change from United’s last Premier League game, the 2-2 draw with Everton a week ago.
Enzo Maresca makes two changes from Manchester City’s win over Coventry last weekend. Matheus Nunes replaces Abdukodir Khusanov at right-back; Phil Foden is preferred to Iliman Ndiaye in attack, which may mean a switch from right to left for Antoine Semenyo. The usual left-winger, Jeremy Doku, is still out with a calf injury.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Dorgu; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, B Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha.
Subs: Andrey Santos, Darlow, Heaven, Lacey, Mazraoui, Mount, Sesko, Yoro, Zirkzee.
Man City (4-2-3-1) Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, Fernandez; Foden, Cherki, Semenyo; Haaland.
Subs: Rulli, Ndiaye, Kovacic, Reis, Bouaddi, O’Reilly, Allan, Khusanov, Lewis.
Referee Michael Oliver.
Updated
Manchester City have enjoyed a perfect start to the season without ever looking fully convincing in their victories. There are certainly more positives than negatives as Enzo Maresca learns more and more about his team. Against Porto they were sloppy for far too long and the midfield continues to look open, so a statement performance against their fiercest rivals would be ideal. The quality to rip open a team that has conceded two in each of their three Premier League outings thus far is there, and if it all finally clicks, then it could be a fine day for City.
Michael Carrick is in a not dissimilar position but only has four points to show for United’s indifferent efforts. There is always an underlying pressure for any Manchester United and he faces difficult league games today and next weekend at Fulham before an elongated international break. He can’t afford two defeats because there will be a long silence that will be filled with think pieces on the club because it is impossible to escape the noise at this club.
Manchester United’s nine victories from 10 Premier League games at Old Trafford in 2026 cast their stadium as a fortress Manchester City aim to ransack on Sunday, to join Leeds in departing with three points during this calendar year.
Michael Carrick has overseen the division’s highest home points-per-game return in that span: 2.7, ahead of Arsenal’s 2.27 (from 12 matches) and Manchester City’s 2.25 (11); and his side have scored the most goals: 26, to City’s 23, and the champions’ 20.
A United fan group, the 1958, has called for a “peaceful protest” before kick-off, starting at a pub near the stadium, against what it believes is disproportionate action in the club’s drive to eradicate ticket touting. United said on Friday that 685 accounts had been subject to a ban and 464 supporters had received a reduced sanction or final warning.
Preamble
Can you have a must-win game in September? How about a mustn’t-lose match? This Manchester derby feels close to the latter for United, who have made a false start to Michael Carrick’s first season as full-time manager and already trail City by five points.
It’s not all doom and gloom for United. They’ve scored nine goals in two home games, and their form at Old Trafford since Carrick took over has been terrific. They’ve won 10 out of 11, including a rousing 2-0 demolition of City in his first match back in January. United counter-attacked to devastating effect in that game; a degree in rocket science is not required to work out Carrick’s tactics today.
City have recovered well after being battered by Arsenal in the Community Shield. You can’t ask for more than three league wins from three, even if the fixtures have been relatively kind. For both sides, this should be a useful health check.
Kick off 4.30pm.
