Foden, Haaland shine to thrash rivals in a heated match
Priton Omwenga
The Manchester derby on Sunday opened up a full different perspective on sports after the Cityzens hit the Red Devils 6-3 for what can e termed as thrilling game-thrashing moment.
The derby, hosted by Manchester city saw Phil Foden and Erling Haaland both scoring hat-tricks.
It was the former of the two who broke the deadlock after just eight minutes when he was found in the box by Bernardo Silva and lifted a brilliant first-time
It took City a while to double their lead but once they did they showed their rivals no mercy.
Into halftime of the game, City was leading with a 4-0 up thanks to a flurry of goals after the 34th minute when Haaland scored his first of the game. The Norwegian, who has appeared in 11 games, headed home from a brilliant Kevin De Bruyne corner, which was confirmed to have crossed the goal-line after Tyrell Malacia appeared to have made a goal-saving intervention.
Photo: Courtesy. Haaland after his first goal at Etihad
And it was the combination of De Bruyne and Haaland that would bear fruit once again just three minutes later, this time from open play. The Belgian playmaker played a sumptuous curled ball into the box and unsurprisingly, Haaland was waiting at the back post to beat De Gea with a brilliant sliding effort.
The goalscorer would then turn provider for City’s fourth goal when he slid a fantastic low cross along the box that Foden would meet at the far post to make it 4-0 in the 44th minute.
A fantastic goal from Brazilian winger Antony, who rifled in a powerful low-driven effort from around 25 yards out in the 56th minute opened a door of hope for the rivals Manchester United.
However, this proved to be nothing more than a wake-up call for the City players who added their fifth goal just eight minutes later courtesy of Haaland.
Sergio Gomez played a pivotal role in the goal as he played a pinpoint ball into Haaland's feet and the Norway striker made no mistake from around eight yards out, firing his bullet against Man United completing his hat-trick.
The Cityzens would score their final goal in the 74th minute when Foden added his third of the day.
The England star was found by Haaland, who pivoted on the ball before driving at the Manchester United defence and sliding the ball between Victor Lindelof and Bruno Fernandes and Foden showed fantastic composure to beat De Gea at his near post with a brilliant finish.
In the second half of the game, in what could be termed as a comeback, the Red Devils tried their luck to score three consolation goals via Anthony Martial in the last ten minutes to make the scoreline look slightly less embarrassing for them but it would've taken a miracle for them to stage any type of comeback.
In Ten Hag's defence on why he did not feature Christiano ronaldo in the second half of the game, he said that it could have been an insult to the start since his side had already given in to a humiliating 4-0 defeat in the first half of the game. Ten Hag is however optimistic for a comeback in the second home game that will be hosted in Old Trafford.
