The Red Devils had conceded 10 goals in their last two visits to the Etihad, and it looked like they might be in for another long afternoon as City applied plenty of early pressure.
Fresh from racking up four assists against Luton Town in the FA Cup, Kevin De Bruyne slipped in John Stones with a delicate reverse pass, but Casemiro’s presence was enough to prevent the England international from taking a clean shot from a promising position.
Minutes later, United made the most of a long ball from Andre Onana, with Bruno Fernandes excellently holding up play and laying off to Marcus Rashford, who answered his recent critics by lashing in a first-time strike off the underside of the crossbar – his sixth Manchester derby goal.
Unsurprisingly, the game’s opener did little to alter the pattern of play, yet the much-maligned Onana was proving his worth in the first half, denying Phil Foden when one-on-one and pushing Rodri’s bouncing volley around the post.
The hosts’ patient probing appeared to finally pay off on the stroke of half time as Foden’s header across goal found Erling Haaland. However, Tuesday’s five-goal hero uncharacteristically cushioned his effort over the bar when it looked easier to score.
Erik ten Hag was no doubt the happier of the two managers at the break, but shortly after the restart the United boss was booked for his protests as City levelled the contest.
At one end, Rashford had gone down under minimal contact from compatriot Kyle Walker, allowing City to charge upfield where Foden shifted the ball onto his left and sent a rocket into the same corner United had struck.
Once again, the change in scoreline had little effect on the complexion of the match, with City firmly on the front foot with an hour played.
Desperation may have been mounting among the home faithful, but the home side never looked phased on the pitch, eventually grabbing the lead with 80 minutes on the clock.
Having netted a hat-trick against United last season, Foden was no stranger to scoring when it mattered, and he was the man to put City ahead, clinically arrowing home after a neat interchange with substitute Julian Alvarez.
