(Football news) Pep Guardiola’s side returned from the international break with a straightforward 2-0 triumph versus Leicester City in midweek, whereas their hosts lost for the 13th time in the Premier League season away to Nottingham Forest.
A player whom Manchester United fans and all other rival supporters may be glad to see the back of, the dazzling and delightful De Bruyne will square up to the Red Devils for one final time on derby day this weekend, having confirmed that he will be leaving Manchester City at the end of his contract this summer.
The long-serving Belgian playmaker will bring the curtain down in a glittering 10-year career at the Etihad Stadium, but not before attempting to aid City’s quest for customary Champions League qualification, which received a timely fillip against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester.
Jack Grealish’s long-awaited first Premier League goal of the season and Omar Marmoush’s fifth saw Manchester City stride to a routine win over the Foxes, thus ending a two-game losing sequence in the top division and briefly forcing their way back into the top four of the table.
Chelsea’s slender success over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday has bumped Guardiola’s men back down to fifth, although that spot will likely still suffice for top-level European qualification thanks to England’s superior UEFA coefficient, and FA Cup glory could still be theirs ahead of a Wembley semi-final date with Nottingham Forest.
However, City have seldom come up with the goods away from their Etihad base in the Premier League in recent times, winning just three of their last 11 top-flight games on the road and losing six of them, as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 37 combined.
Sticking with the theme of Manchester teams losing away from home, Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils were haunted by a former flame at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground in midweek, as Anthony Elanga further highlighted Man United’s striking transfer failings.
Where the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have faltered, Elanga has flourished in 2024-25 and propelled the Garibaldi to victory on home turf with an exceptional solo run and finish with just five minutes played.
Amorim’s shot-shy attack had no reply in the 85 that remained as their four-match unbeaten run across all competitions came to an end, as well as an identical streak without defeat in the Premier League alone, leaving the top half of the table firmly out of their reach.
Silverware and a coveted Champions League place could still be secured via the Europa League – Lyon awaits for the first leg of their quarter-final next Thursday – but failure to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 12 home games could put paid to the idea of continental glory.
Not since December’s 4-0 win over Everton have Manchester United shut out a visitor to the Theatre of Dreams, a result that came just two weeks before an absorbing 2-1 success at the Etihad, one that means the Red Devils have not lost any of their last three Manchester derbies inside 90 minutes.
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