Erling Haaland’s double helped Manchester City secure derby day delight as lifeless rivals Manchester United were outclassed in an embarrassing home defeat.
The eyes of the footballing world were on Old Trafford as the neighbours met in the 191st Manchester derby and first since Pep Guardiola’s men matched their 1999 treble triumph.
Haaland scored a spot-kick and unmarked header before playing in Phil Foden to wrap up 3-0 victory, yet City’s dominance was far greater than the scoreline suggests.
It was an abrupt end to an unconvincing three-match winning run in all competitions for Erik ten Hag’s United, who have now lost five of their 10 opening Premier League games.
Haaland put City ahead midway through the first half from a penalty awarded after the VAR spotted a supposed Rasmus Hojlund tug on Rodri.
Ragtag defending allowed Haaland to head home another in a one-sided win that Foden added late gloss to.
It would have been worse was it not for Andre Onana’s saves on a day when United fans booed Ten Hag’s decision to replace Hojlund.
It was an ugly end to an emotional week for United, who again remembered the late, great Sir Bobby Charlton on Sunday.
Those clad in red and blue applauded in unity before a match that City dominated from the outset.
Just eight minutes were on the clock when Rodri’s diagonal ball was nodded back by Kyle Walker to Foden, who got away a powerful close-range header that Onana stopped.
The ball looped up and would have been bundled home by Haaland was it not for the goalkeeper’s reactions.
It was a let-off and Onana denied Jack Grealish before City were awarded a penalty.
VAR Michael Oliver instructed Paul Tierney to go to the pitchside monitor to review a potential pull by Hojlund on Rodri when a free-kick came over.
The referee eventually pointed to spot and Haaland kept his cool, sending Onana the wrong way and wheeling off in celebration in front of the furious home fans.
That 26th minute gut punch emboldened City and hushed the Old Trafford faithful, leading to tongue-in-cheek chants from away fans comparing the atmosphere to the Etihad Stadium.
City were dominant for the remainder of the opening period as they pushed for a second few could argue with, but United had two big opportunities to level.
First Hojlund roared onto a loose ball and rounded Ederson, before eventually cutting back for Bruno Fernandes to laser over.
In hindsight, the young striker may wish he had gone down after John Stones’ physical defending in the build-up.
United went closer still in stoppage time as Marcus Rashford’s first-time sweeping ball put Scott McTominay behind to take a touch and get away a strike tipped over by Ederson.
That moment increased the volume inside Old Trafford, as did Onana’s outstanding reaction save from Haaland’s close-range header.
It looked like a potentially game-changing moment, but the City sharpshooter would not be denied a second for long.
After Fernandes and Foden traded efforts, the visitors capitalised on United’s poor defensive structure and Bernardo Silva clipped a cross to unmarked Haaland to head home at the far post.
“Mind the gap, Man United” chanted the pocket of elated City fans, who saw Onana prevent Grealish from adding to the 49th-minute header.
The England attacking midfielder sent over a cross-shot as Haaland went down claiming a penalty as the away fans continued to make themselves heard.
A brief flicker of United hope quickly faded as Rashford’s smart touch and strike went across the face of goal, before City returned to the attack.
Onana spread himself well to stop Haaland wrapping up his hat-trick before Ten Hag’s decision to replace Hojlund with Garnacho was met by widespread boos.
Grealish saw a deflected shot fly wide before Onana was eventually beaten again in the 80th minute.
Haaland was the provider this time around. Rodri’s shot was pushed by Onana into the path of the striker, who passed in for Foden to score.
The goalscorer tried to add an overhead kick as some United fans headed for any early exit. Given their side’s poor performance, few could blame them. All they missed was petulance as the clock wound down.
Seattle Sounders v LA Galaxy: Sluggish starts frustrating Vanney
LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has urged his team to start sharply when they take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.
The Galaxy went down 2-0 to Austin FC last time out, and will look to get back to winning ways when they head up the West Coast to face the Sounders, who they beat 1-0 in March.
Vanney’s side found themselves 2-0 down after just 19 minutes against Austin, though, and the Galaxy coach is growing increasingly frustrated with his team’s sloppy starts.
In quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune, Vanney said: “We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivises the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal.”
Vanney also pointed out that sluggishness in the final third is proving equally as costly.
He added: “The speed of our final actions when we are in possession and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots.”
For experienced defender Maya Yoshida, there were few excuses after the Austin loss.
“We were not enough. I don't deserve anything for my performance,” he said. “We deserved to lose. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”
The Galaxy went into the weekend second in the Western Conference, 10 places and nine points above the Sounders.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz and team-mate Jordan Morris have each scored nine goals against the Galaxy in their MLS careers. Since 2016, the only players with more goals against a single opponent are Carlos Vela (10 vs. Galaxy), Jeremy Ebobisse (10 vs. Galaxy) and Kei Kamara (10 vs. Montreal).
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig had a fine campaign last year and the former Barcelona midfielder has picked up where he left off, scoring three goals and creating two more so far this season.
MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN
The Galaxy’s loss to Austin ended a run of 18 straight matches with at least one goal in all competitions, scoring 41 total times during that run (2.3 goals per match). It was the Galaxy’s longest run of games with a goal in all competitions since a 21-match run in 2014.
The Sounders won their second match of the season on Tuesday, a 3-2 victory in Philadelphia. Seattle have scored eight goals in their two wins this year (5-0 vs. CF Montreal in April) and six goals in their other eight matches (D3 L5).
The Galaxy beat Seattle at home on March 30, ending an 11-match MLS winless run against the Sounders (D4 L7). The Galaxy last won consecutive MLS matches against Seattle in April-August 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Seattle Sounders – 53.9%
LA Galaxy – 20.1%
Draw – 26%
Haaland pinpoints collective Man City quality after four-goal blitz of Wolves
Erling Haaland blasted four goals past Wolves in a one-man Premier League show but the Manchester City forward says it would not be possible without manager Pep Guardiola or his team-mates.
The City talisman took his top-flight tally to 25 for this season, moving five clear of his nearest challenger in the Premier League Golden Boot race, after Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Wolves.
Haaland was twice on target from the penalty spot as part of his first-half hat-trick, adding another after the interval with an arrowed strike into the top-left corner.
It was the first time the Norway star has managed four goals in one Premier League game, with his quartet of strikes coming in 54 minutes. Only Gabriel Jesus has scored as many earlier in one match, doing so in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022.
Haaland also became the third player to score multiple first-half hat-tricks in Premier League history (also against Nottingham Forest last season), along with Andrew Cole and Michael Owen (two each).
Yet the superstar attacker says his exploits would not be possible without his City colleagues or boss Guardiola.
"I've got a not-too-bad manager who pushes me and look at the players around me," Haaland told Sky Sports when asked about his motivations.
"Without them, it would not be possible. Look ahead, look to next one – four finals left for the season. We're going to go for it and focus on Fulham."
It was Haaland's sixth Premier League hat-trick for City, with only seven players netting more in the competition’s history. All six of those trebles have been at the Etihad, only three have more at a single venue.
Haaland's second strike came from a towering header following Rodri's right-wing centre, which he suggested would delight his father Alfie.
"That's a beautiful goal," the Norwegian said of his headed finish. "My father is going to be happy with that one.
"A nice celebration, I enjoyed that one. I'm scoring more headers, I try to develop and keep going."
City are within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal and Guardiola's side still have a game in hand against Tottenham on May 14.
Despite the thrashing of Wolves, Haaland insists Guardiola remains intent on winning the remaining games, rather than calculating the probabilities needed on goal difference.
"First of all it's about winning the games but, of course, you want to have the best possible goal difference," he added. "Let's not think about that. Think about Fulham."
Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win
Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.
With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.
There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.
Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.
Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped
Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.
That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.
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