Man City 3-1 Man United: Phil Foden scores twice as home side come from behind to win Manchester derby

Phil Foden's second-half double secured Manchester City the spoils of the Manchester derby as they came from behind to beat Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

The visiting team took the lead in the eighth minute with Marcus Rashford scoring with a sensational shot from 30 yards.

But Foden was the star of the game in which City dominated.

There was an element of debate about his late tying goal. United manager Erik ten Hag was booked for claiming his team should have taken a free-kick when Rashford was brought down in City's half under a challenge from Kyle Walker.

Contact was kept to a minimum and within seconds Foden curled a great shot past Andre Onana.

Foden then pounced off a stationary Casemiro to score City's second goal from Julian Alvarez's return pass, with the Norwegian missing the opener from just three yards before Erling Haaland scored in stoppage time. I decided.

It was City's sixth win in seven games against United, who suffered their 11th defeat in the Premier League this season.

More importantly, the result means Josep Guardiola's side move within points of leaders Liverpool ahead of next week's trip to Anfield.

United remain in 6th place in the table, but are 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and six points behind Tottenham, with just one more game needed to move them into the top five in the Champions League. there is a possibility.

Foden's class stands out.

It was fitting that Stockport-born Foden was the match winner.

While contemporary Jadon Sancho was excelling at Borussia Dortmund, Guardiola decided not to wait to develop at City and defended his treatment of a player accused of holding him back. What I had to do now seems like a long time ago.

With United loser Sancho back on loan at Dortmund, the contrast in the current fortunes of both players could not be more stark.

Foden's equalizer was Pep Guardiola's 600th goal at the stadium for City, his sublime shot connecting with Victor Lindelof on the right edge of United's box before curling into the top corner out of Onana's reach. was.

For the second goal, he darted into the area from the opposite flank, collected a pass from Julian Alvarez and fired a low shot home that almost went past the United keeper, but the keeper could have done better.

Foden is now choosing the right time to get involved in the attack and England manager Gareth Southgate is sure to find a way to ensure the 23-year-old, who has scored 18 goals this season, is in the starting XI for Euro 2024. That's what I'm looking at. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

Haaland will be delighted to see his name on the scoresheet given his incredible mistake in the first half when he managed to force Foden's knockback into an open goal from three yards out.

However, by then City had beaten United again.

Rashford hits a shot on target, but United lose badly

In the build-up to the match, Rashford spoke extensively to The Players' Tribune, detailing his journey from poverty to United's first team and highlighting how much the club meant to him.

It was thought-provoking and very personal.

But those words meant nothing to a significant number of fans who have viewed Rashford's efforts this season through the prism of poor performances, lack of goal threat and indifferent body language. . The common response for them was to “save it for the pitch.”

For that to happen, there's a good chance Rashford won't be able to score more than his eighth-minute opener.

Bruno Fernandes did a good job of holding off Ruben Diaz and controlling Onana's powerful kick downfield. And as Scott McTominay sprinted into the area, Fernandes had the vision and intelligence to wait for Rashford to come from behind.

He delivered a perfect pass to the England striker, who without breaking stride fired a shot from under the bar into the City net.

Rashford could have easily gone for another shot, but when Fernandes lofted a pass past the stationary home defence, he tried to control the bouncing ball and succeeded only to head it down to the ground. Kyle Walker returned and out of harm's way. .

This was United's last real chance as they looked to fend off one City attack after another.

Ten Hag did not have the manpower to complete the task, despite the efforts of the players.

New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to pull City off its perch. Based on this evidence, he would need a fairly long ladder to attempt it.

player of match

Fodenphil foden