City and MU Gotong Royong in the Manchester Derby

MANCHESTER, SUNDAY — The latest edition of the Manchester Derby presents a story of collaboration. The Manchester City squad executed Manager Pep Guardiola's plan flawlessly, while Ruben Amorim at Manchester United rolled out the red carpet for the neighboring team with his strategic shortcomings.

The collaboration proved advantageous for the host City, who won 3-0 against MU at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, on Sunday (15/9/2025). Midfielder Phil Foden opened the scoring early in the match, while forward Erling Haaland completed the victory with a pair of goals in the second half.

Amorim stated that they should have been able to perform better. "It is very disappointing when you lose 0-3 to City. If you look at the moments in the match, all three goals could have actually been avoided. For instance, in the first goal, it was due to a lack of aggressiveness," said the coach who defeated Guardiola twice last season.

Who is the "biggest sinner" in Foden's goal? There are two players, namely midfielder Bruno Fernandes and defender Luke Shaw. Shaw was easily bypassed by Jeremy Doku, the assister. Shaw also failed to close down the passing lane promptly. Meanwhile, Fernandes did not notice Foden's movement into the penalty area.

Fernandes and Shaw are indeed at fault, but Amorim is the one most responsible for that defeat. The tactician once again deployed both players in positions that were not their best. Fernandes played as a defensive midfielder, while Shaw was positioned as a center-back. All of this was done to maintain the heavily criticized 3-4-3 system.

The formation of three defenders is not the main issue. The problem is that he is repeating an approach that has failed multiple times when visiting City's home ground. The biggest flaw in that formation is the presence of Fernandes as one of the two holding midfielders. In fact, defending is not one of the best skill attributes of the attacking midfielder from Portugal.

As a result, United seemed to be playing with only one anchor midfielder, Manuel Ugarte. "Then, they faced three City midfielders at once. How could they cope? The center-backs should have stepped up (into midfield) when needed, but that didn't happen," said former City defender Micah Richards on Sky Sports.

Learning from previous matches, City recognized the weaknesses of the opposing team. Guardiola arrived with the idea to exploit this. The home team focused on targeting the space between the three center-backs and two pivot midfielders. Foden became the main weapon with his movements into the penalty area from the second line.

Guardiola's vision was clearly evident in the first goal. Doku, deployed as a left winger in a 4-1-4-1 formation, moved centrally, taking over the attacking midfielder's area. He then attacked Shaw, who was slightly in the right half-space. As Doku penetrated, Foden immediately took up position behind Fernandes.

"It is very difficult for Bruno because defending is not his strength. He cannot sense danger. Several of the last goals conceded (by MU) have become a pattern. There are players running behind him. He is not a defensive player, but a forward whose job is to score goals," said former England national team striker, Theo Walcott, to BBC Sport.

As a result of the opening goal in the 17th minute, MU's plans were disrupted. They hoped to rely on counter-attack transitions at Etihad. However, this did not occur as City opted to wait more after taking the lead. The visiting team was instead forced to attack, while City capitalized on counter-attacks for two of Haaland's goals.

MU briefly ignited hopes of turning the situation around in the second half. They created several golden opportunities from striker Bryan Mbeumo. However, City's debutant goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, managed to thwart all efforts from the neighboring team. Donnarumma was even praised directly by Guardiola.

Thanks to MU's assistance, City has finally been able to rise again after a series of two consecutive defeats. "It is not easy to start the season with many new players. Therefore, it is a privilege to bring joy at this moment. I know how significant the derby match is. The players were very aggressive today. Everything was like a machine," said Guardiola.

On the other hand, MU is still grappling with issues related to formation and player utilization. The current squad composition of MU is considered more suitable for a 4-3-3 formation. Through this formation, Fernandes can be reintroduced as an attacking midfielder. He can enhance the offensive performance of the "Red Devils."

Fernandes has only scored one goal this season, and that was from a penalty kick. The team captain contributed 19 goals and 18 assists throughout last season. Fernandes' creativity has been stifled as he more frequently takes on the role of orchestrating attacks from deeper areas. He is rarely involved in counterattacks as he was in previous seasons.

Amorim acknowledged that the defeat in the derby was his fault. He also assessed that a total of 8 wins from 31 league matches during his tenure is too few for a team as large as MU. "However, I will not change my philosophy. I play my way and will continue to play that way. Or, you can change the person," asserted the coach. (AP/REUTERS)