EPL Wrap: Haaland’s brace secures City’s away win at Old Trafford

Pep Guardiola once again showcased his mastery of the Manchester derby as Manchester City delivered a convincing victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, marking the first such win since 2021.

The match, intended as a tribute to the late Sir Bobby Charlton, turned into a lopsided contest, concluding with a 3-0 victory for the Cityzens. Erling Haaland opened the scoring for the visitors with a penalty at Old Trafford and secured a brace, bringing his tally to 20 away goals in 23 appearances. Haaland also contributed with an assist to Phil Foden.

United struggled to make an impact during the game, managing only three shots on target compared to City’s ten. Despite the loss, United fans could credit Andre Onana for his outstanding saves that prevented Haaland from securing a hat-trick.

Game Recap

Before kickoff, a minute of silence was observed in honour of Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton, who passed away the previous weekend at the age of 87. United aimed to pay tribute with a strong performance at Old Trafford. In the third minute, Bruno Fernandes dispossessed Gvardiol and sent a pass to Scott McTominay, but the Scotsman’s shot was well saved by Ederson.

However, just five minutes later, Andre Onana was called into action to make a double save from City’s attack. He first parried Phil Foden’s header before denying Erling Haaland’s follow-up attempt.

In the 20th minute, Onana once again denied City a chance to break the deadlock with a save from Jack Grealish’s finish following a pass from Julio Alvarez.

But City’s wait for an opener didn’t last much longer. In the 26th minute, VAR awarded a penalty after Rasmus Hojlund’s foul on Rodri. Haaland converted the penalty, putting City ahead.

The visitors continued to press for a second goal but were thwarted by Onana. Meanwhile, United had another goal attempt, but Ederson saved it. Onana made a crucial save from Haaland’s header to keep the first-half action exciting.

The second half witnessed a relentless City side continuing to dominate. Just four minutes into the half, Erling Haaland netted his brace with a header from Bernardo Silva’s cross.

While United hoped to mitigate the damage, Rodri struck a long-range shot that Onana deflected into Haaland’s path, leading to Foden’s goal and City’s third.

At Anfield, Taiwo Awoniyi’s Nottingham Forest suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool. Awoniyi played for 21 minutes, while his Nigerian counterpart, Ola Aina, started and played until the 69th minute.

The goals came from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah in the second half. Aston Villa continued their strong start to the season with a 3-1 home win against bottom-placed Luton Town. Everton also won away to commemorate the passing of their late chairman, Bill Kenwright, who passed during the week, while Fulham won a point off Brighton at the Amex.