The 191st Manchester Derby played at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home turf, was set to be an emotional one, as it was the first Manchester Derby since the passing of club and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton. While the visitors of last night’s 191st Manchester Derby may have paid their last respects to the former leading goal scorer for the Three Lions and the Red Devils, who died at the age of 86 due to complications from dementia, they certainly showed no mercy against their arch-nemesis on the field, dominating their opponents and winning the game with ease on a 3-0 score line.
Haaland’s Brace and Assist Earned Manchester City’s Victory in the 191st Manchester Derby
City had to thank striker sensation Erling Haaland for their comfortable 3-0 win in the 191st Manchester City. The 23-year-old Norwegian, who ended his European club football competition scoring draught of more than 500 minutes in the UEFA Champions League against BSC Young Boys a few days earlier, scored another couple of goals and even provided an assist for his club in the 191st Manchester Derby. Here are five talking points about last night’s match:
191st Manchester Derby — Five Talking Points
1. Haaland Remains Unstoppable
Being son to former City player Alf-Inge Haaland, Erling Haaland was eager to break Manchester United’s fans’ hearts as soon as he joined the Cityzens last season. The Norwegian was part of the City squad that played United three times last year, scoring a hat-trick in his first Manchester Derby, where the Cityzens came out on top with a 6-3 trashing at the Etihad. Although Haaland did not provide much in the next two games versus United, his masterclass was again displayed in the 191st Manchester Derby, since the player score two and assisted one; One of them a penalty and another was a header while the assist set up Phil Foden for his second goal in 2023/2024.
His brace and assist in last night’s 191st Manchester Derby brought his season tally to 13 goals and three assists in 15 appearances in 2023/2024.
Pep and Haaland after the whistle 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/KZYgm3e0Yq
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 29, 2023
2. United Fans Disapproved ten Hag’s Substitutions
To make matters worse for United, who lost the 191st Manchester Derby via a disappointing 3-0 score line, the Old Trafford faithful also jeered huge boos to manager Erik ten Hag for his choices of replacements in the match. The 53-year-old Dutchman first brought on new signing Mason Mount for another transfer Sofyan Amrabat, but it was his second change that drew enormous distastes from the crowd. Alejandro Garnacho was given the chance to play after he substituted Rasmus Højlund, and the dissatisfactions from fans are reasonably fair as they thought the Danish striker could have offered more in the game.
Another questionable move by ten Hag came when he brought Brazilian winger Antony in the 86th minute, where the 191st Manchester Derby has already been won 3-0 by the visitors.
3. City Remain Hungry for Their Fourth Consecutive Premier League Crown
Pep Guardiola’s City may have won the continental treble and their third successful English Premier League title last season, the team are showing no signs of showing down. Despite midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne’s disastrous injury and both North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur‘s fierce challenges since the start of the 2023/2024 Season, the Cityzens are pretty much still in contention of capturing the record fourth straight Premier League silverware this year.
After the 191st Manchester Derby, which Guardiola highlight as City’s “Best performance this year”, City are only two points behind leaders Spurs and levelled on points with the Gunners. With both London clubs set to face Newcastle United and Chelsea in the next Matchday, Guardiola’s side may welcome an opportunity to return to the top of the Premier League table this time around.
Things are heating up at the top 🥵 pic.twitter.com/XJVC42P6ps
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 29, 2023
4. Onana Settling In
If there is one silver lining for Manchester United in last night’s 191st Manchester Derby, then it has to be André Onana’s recent rise as the new no. 1 for the Red Devils. The 27-year-old Cameroonian replaced Spanish shot stopper David de Gea in goal for the 13-time Premier League winners this season, and was accused for his poor performances since the start of his United career, but the ex-AFC Ajax and Inter Milan redeemed himself in his last two matches, saving a last-minute penalty during the period as well. Ten Hag’s Red Devils could have easily conceded more against Pep’s Cityzens last night, had it not been for Onana’s heroics.
While Onana seemed to have settled down as the new starting goalkeeper for Manchester United, ex-no. 1 de Gea might still come back to replace the Cameroonian, since the former will be away for his nation at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations early next year. Here is the full story.
5. Ten Hag’s Sack Calls Grow
Ten Hag’s first season in charge of Manchester United gave glimpses of hope to fans as he led the Red Devils to win the EFL Cup, reach the FA Cup Final and finished third in the English Premier League. But instead of challenging for major silverwares in 2023/2024, ten Hag’s team had lost five games in 10 Matchdays in the Premier League and only bagged three points out of a possible nine in the UEFA Champions League thus far, laying a poor foundation to a promising season.
The under-par results certainly have something to do with United’s long list of injuries as well as off-field issues with the likes of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood, and ten Hag also received full backing from the Manchester United management personnel, but the questions now will be, how long more before such patience runs out and can ten Hag actually turn things around before it is too late?
Manchester United are now sitting eighth and third in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League Group A, and will face Newcastle United in the EFL Cup Fourth Round on Wednesday evening for a rematch of last season’s final.
I Did Not Have a Livestream Platform for the 191st Manchester Derby, What Should I Do Next?
So there you have it, folks, the five talking points of the 191st Manchester Derby. If you have not been able to watch the match as well as other football games in the 2023/2024 Season, we would highly recommend you to download the AsiaSport mobile application for their high-quality perks regarding the sports of football. Subscribe for FREE access to livestream channels, highlights, match analysis and many more now!
