(Football news) Hat-tricks by Erling Haaland and Phil Foden ensured reigning Premier League champions Manchester City humiliated their local rivals Manchester United 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola brought in Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Nathan Ake with John Stones and Rodri injured while Reuben Dias was on the bench. Erik ten Hag named the same starting XI that featured against Arsenal almost a month ago with Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro on the bench and a fit again Marcus Rashford featuring with Antony in attack. 

It was clear from the get go that Manchester United were simply not up to the task as City dominated right from kick off. In the third minute, the hosts made Man Utd scramble in the box with McTominay and De Gea somehow keeping Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne at bay. However, the relief was short-lived as Phil Foden scored the opening goal in the eighth minute, taking advantage of some loose marking by Christian Eriksen. Jack Grealish displayed one of his best performances in a City shirt so far, tormenting Manchester United’s defence time and again, resulting in Diogo Dalot receiving a booking. 

With pressure mounting on Manchester United, a second goal for City seemed a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ and the inevitable happened when De Bruyne’s effort was tipped over for a corner which subsequently led to Erling Haaland finding the back of the net from the set piece, scoring his 12th goal of his debut campaign in what has been an incredible season for the Norwegian so far. De Bruyne and Haaland combined once again for the third goal, with the striker using his long legs to great effect and capitalising on a trademark assist by the Belgian midfielder. 

Manchester United did manage to score through new signing Antony, but his second goal in two games was an insignificant one as Foden and Haaland went on to complete their hat tricks. Ten Hag introduced Anthony Martial for Marcus Rashford, who failed to make any impact whatsoever on the fixture and the Frenchman managed to score two goals late in the match. His first came after heading in Fred’s parried shot and the second was from the penalty spot after a Cancelo foul in the 91st minute. It was a case of two steps forward, one step back for Manchester United who appeared to have been making significant strides in their last four Premier League fixtures, only to revert to defensive lapses, lack of belief and failing to stick to a coherent gameplan. 

Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said “We had a lack of belief. I'm surprised why we didn't bring it on the pitch. It was four weeks ago, but I had seen a different team with a different spirit and a different vibe. Today, we weren't convincing. From the first minute, we were not on the front foot and we were not brave in possession. It's always difficult to find out why that is, especially straight after the game. I will have to talk to my players and find out. They know they can do better. You saw the performances against Arsenal and Liverpool but if you don't fight – which we didn't – then you have a problem against a team like Manchester City. Once again, it was a lack of belief."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said “It was really good. We scored four goals in the first half and we could have scored more really. They played better in the second half and the last minutes were flat, but it was a good game and everyone in the stadium was happy. In the first half we were aggressive and had the space, and the quality of players we had up front made the difference. Some players were not good today and have to improve. Perfection doesn't exist, it's impossible. But we have to try to look for it. We have done well today, but we can do better. Many, many players made sloppy passes and we lost it and this is not good. We have to be more consistent in our passes. In the final third you can have more creativity, you can take more risks, but in some areas, we were not good." 

Also read: Wolves part ways with head coach Bruno Lage after fourth defeat