Endeavour without end product as United subdued by City’s ruthlessness

Manchester United left the Etihad beaten 3-0 but not bereft of effort, undone by the clinical edge they could not find as Erling Haaland scored twice after Phil Foden’s first-half header. For long spells of this 197th derby, Ruben Amorim’s side were organised and competitive; in the decisive moments, City were a class apart.

Amid moving tributes to Ricky Hatton, United’s structure and work-rate kept them in contact, yet the key chances fell the other way and City’s finishers took them. Gianluigi Donnarumma frustrated United’s best looks on his debut, while promising breaks lacked the final pass or touch that Haaland supplied.

Promise but no punch in the opening exchanges

Amorim’s setup sought thrust: Benjamin Sesko earned a first league start, Bruno Fernandes operated as the No 8, with Bryan Mbeumo left and Amad Diallo right. The plan almost bore fruit when Fernandes released Patrick Dorgu and the wing-back arced a cross to the far post, only for Diallo to mistime an airborne scissor.

There were further sniffs. Twice United advanced only for the final ball towards Mbeumo to be overhit or into trouble, and when Sesko spun to shoot Donnarumma sprang right to save. The Slovenian then burst through but a heavy touch allowed the Italian to smother—nearly moments that contrasted with City’s cutting edge.

Fine margins become a gulf

Foden’s 18th‑minute header from Doku’s second cross forced United to chase. After the interval it was Doku again who found Haaland, the striker brushing off the challenge to clip in a 53rd‑minute second that felt like a pivot point.

United were briefly spared when Haaland rounded Altay Bayindir and hit the post with the goal open, but the killer blow arrived on 68 minutes as Bernardo Silva’s through-ball sent the Norwegian away from halfway. He looked up and finished coolly—the contrast with United’s squandered scenarios laid bare.

Adjustments without incision

Amorim introduced fresh legs and reshaped roles, pushing Fernandes higher into a No 10 berth and asking Diallo to work as a right wing-back, with Kobbie Mainoo operating as the No 8. The tweaks steadied phases, but the creativity and fantasy the manager demands remained elusive.

Donnarumma’s late tip over from Mbeumo’s volley underlined the story. Bayindir, meanwhile, kept the scoreline down by claiming Haaland’s deft flick and parrying Tijjani Reijnders, yet United’s endeavour could not disguise the penalty-box gap that decided the game.

Reality check and the road ahead

Amorim accepted before kick-off that his list of problems is longer than Guardiola’s, and the numbers continue to sting: four points from four games and an uneasy win-rate picture since his appointment. Twelve years on from Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, United are still searching for a corner that refuses to turn.

There were fragments to build on—compactness for stretches, Fernandes’ ambition to knit transitions, the energy of a reshaped front—but Chelsea arrive at Old Trafford next Saturday with scrutiny certain to remain intense. Turning endeavour into end product is now the task.