Erling Haaland (£14.1m) continued his fine goalscoring form on Sunday, as he led Manchester City to a well-earned derby victory.
Here’s what we saw at the Etihad.
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HAALAND “BETTER THAN EVER”
Erling Haaland scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season on Sunday, propelling him to the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) player rankings.
The Norwegian could have easily scored a hat-trick, too, having taken five shots in the box, which included three big chances, at the Etihad.
City will face Napoli on Thursday, followed by Arsenal on Sunday, but expect Haaland’s ownership to surge ahead of Gameweek 6, when City host newly-promoted Burnley.
“Erling has been incredible. This season, he is better than ever. I would say it’s better than the treble season. Very dynamic. We want him to score goals and to help us.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland
Even in defensive situations, Haaland made a significant impact, with eight defensive contributions (DefCons), including six clearances.
Tijjani Reijnders (£5.7m), meanwhile, should have scored when he was sent through on goal by Haaland, as City cut through United’s defence with ease (see image below).
Despite blanking, Reijnders did at least complete another 90 minutes in this match, his fourth consecutive full game.
Above: City’s shot map (shots on target in green) against United on Sunday
FODEN CENTRAL
After missing international duty with England, Phil Foden (£8.0m) impressed playing in a central role.
With Bernardo Silva (£6.4m) positioned on the right, the 25-year-old netted the opener and consistently found himself in dangerous positions in the box.
He even earned DefCon points for his defensive efforts.
“We missed him so much. He moved behind the striker. He has the sense of the team and quality to keep the ball. Most play the ball and say, ‘look how good the pass was’. He makes the pass and zoom! We cannot forget two seasons ago when we won the last game against West Ham. He was the key player to win the Premier League. Last season, for injuries and other reasons he could not be with us but hopefully step by step he can get back. He is a Manchester City supporter, and he can do what he’s able to do. Joy and happiness on his face and we’re going to have the best Phil.” – Pep Guardiola on Phil Foden
“It meant a lot to me to get back on the scoresheet and to start a game. I was training well at the start of the season, but I managed to pick up two ankle injuries, which was really frustrating. You can see the emotion when I scored. I have been working really hard, and I wanted to put that into the game. I am not one for speaking off the pitch. I let everyone do that for me. I keep focused on what I can control and that’s on the pitch. I came off the Club World Cup where I thought I looked better. I am happy with where I am at the moment. I’m feeling happy, and I want to keep putting the work in on the training ground. Hopefully, I can get even better.” – Phil Foden
Jeremy Doku (£6.4m) was another key performer for City, as he claimed a pair of assists.
Defensively, Josko Gvardiol (£5.8m) made his long-awaited return, playing his first match of the season in central defence.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.5m), meanwhile, looked assured in goal, making a couple of important saves to deny the visitors.
Above: City’s average position map v United on Sunday, featuring Donnarumma (No 25), Khusanov (45), Dias (3), Gvardiol (24), O’Reilly (33), Rodri (16), Bernardo (20), Reijnders (4), Foden (47), Doku (11) and Haaland (9)
MBEUMO’S SHOTS
United did actually play well in patches at the Etihad.
They were admittedly undone defensively, yet Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m) frequently found himself in dangerous positions in the final third.
Deployed as one of the dual ‘10s’ next to Amad Diallo (£6.4m), Mbeumo racked up four shots, forcing debutant Donnarumma to make an excellent second-half save.
Mbeumo is now joint-top among all FPL midfielders for goal attempts (Tot) this season, with 12:
With Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) out through injury, there was a first Premier League start for Benjamin Sesko (£7.4). It wasn’t his best afternoon, however, as he often looked isolated.
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) looked a bit out of sorts in a deeper position, failing to register a single penalty box touch, despite moving into a No 10 role for the final half an hour.
“Today, when you imagine the game, why not use Amad, Bryan [Mbeumo] and Sesko [with] Bruno behind. With the ball, to be the first guy receiving the ball, and then with a lot of pace in front. So, I’m trying to do different things, trying to imagine the game, and then when you don’t win, doesn’t work, you take the criticisms, but that’s it.” – Ruben Amorim
