Man Utd vs. Man City Player Ratings: Haaland Redeems Foden’s Beckham Moment

Manchester United were condemned to a bitterly disappointing 1–0 defeat on Sunday at Old Trafford thanks to Erling Haaland’s solitary goal for a Manchester City side which played the majority of the match with 10 men.

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Phil Foden threatened to dictate the course of this thrilling contest for all the wrong reasons with a brainless kick out at Bruno Fernandes midway through the first half. City’s academy graduate was penalized in a move reminiscent of David Beckham’s infamous red card for England against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

The Three Lions suffered a valiant defeat on that occasion, but Foden’s City side would prevail thanks to Haaland’s goal which came with its own lashings of controversy.

The Moment That Defined the Match

Enzo Maresca warned that every derby is a “different game” for a homegrown product of this city like Foden. Unfortunately, the Mancunian let the occasion get the better of him, lashing out at Fernandes to cheaply cede the initiative to the hosts. But it wasn’t so straightforward.

United had actually had the better of the play in the moments immediately preceding Foden’s flash of recklessness.

Elliot Anderson was marooned at the base of City’s 4-1-4-1, a lone stone in a river of red shirts crashing on either side of him. Maresca’s decision to field an upturned triangle in City’s midfield helped them match up with United’s 4-2-3-1-Anderson could watch Fernandes while Rayan Cherki and Enzo Fernández dealt with Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo-yet, Matheus Cunha’s constant dropping from the center forward position created a numerical imbalance tipped in United’s favor. Anderson was constantly caught between Fernandes and Cunha, often failing to contain either.

Foden’s dismissal forced Maresca to shuffle his back, retreating to a compact 4-4-1 which gave Anderson far greater support. United went more than 40 minutes before they forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a single save after Foden’s dismissal. It wasn’t until stoppage time when Bryan Mbeumo fluffed his lines that the Red Devils even found a way through City’s understaffed side.

Counterintuitively, losing a player made City more compact and robbed United of their advantage. That Michael Carrick failed to find a solution to this conundrum during the 67 minutes United spent playing against 10 is almost embarrassing.

Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Man City (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Senne Lammens–6.5: Beaten from a tight angle by Haaland.

RB: Diogo Dalot–7.0: Played with the sense of direction of a pigeon who had a magnet strapped to his head.

CB: Harry Maguire–7.0: For every one touch which was needed, Maguire took half a dozen in an act of defiance against the principle of minimalism.

CB: Lisandro Martínez–7.2: Like so many before him, one lapse of concentration allowed Haaland to sneak behind Martínez.

LB: Patrick Dorgu–7.3: Drafted in for the absent Luke Shaw, Dorgu’s task was made a lot easier by the right winger he was supposed to be up against getting sent off.

CM: Youri Tielemans–6.9: A probing force with his work off the ball more than anything he did in possession.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo–7.9: In the congested engine room stuffed with red and blue shirts, Mainoo always seemed to have more time than anyone else.

RW: Bryan Mbeumo–6.2: Shunted to the fringes of the contest until he was presented with the game’s best chance. One on one with Donnarumma, Mbeumo blasted the ball within the giant keeper’s wingspan.

AM: Bruno Fernandes–7.0: Very fortunate to not get sent off himself for kicking the prone Foden, who bailed Fernandes out by reacting petulantly.

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LW: Marcus Rashford–6.9: Blessed with that fast twitch muscle which took him past every opponent after the first step, Rashford struggled to maintain that separation as his run continued.

ST: Matheus Cunha–6.4: Limited to snatched tip-toeing in the shadows.

SUB: Benjamin Šeško (68′ for Tielemans)–6.4

SUB: Joshua Zirkzee (83′ for Rashford)–N/A

Subs not used: Karl Darlow (GK), Ayden Heaven, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Andrey Santos, Noussair Mazraoui, Shea Lacey.

Man City Player Ratings vs. Man Utd (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma–7.8: Produced a magnificent stop after being surprisingly underworked for much of the game.

RB: Matheus Nunes–8.1: Locked in an engaging battle with Rashford which saw the physically impressive fullback come out on top almost every time.

CB: Marc Guéhi–7.2: Always willing to leave the safety of the middle of his defense to confront a red shirt out wide, invariably getting the better of these duels.

CB: Rúben Dias–7.1: Had a better feel for what the tempo of the contest needed than any of his defensive teammates.

LB: Joško Gvardiol–7.7: Solid if unspectacular in a role focused on the grittier side of the contest given the numerical disadvantage.

DM: Elliot Anderson–7.4: Seemed to thrive in the adversity of the moment, getting better as the challenge got harder.

RM: Phil Foden–4.7: It couldn’t really have gone worse for the boyhood City fan during his time on the pitch. Foden only had eight passes before he was duped into a senseless fling of his studs at Fernandes.

CM: Rayan Cherki–6.3: Endured an arguably even more disappointing afternoon than Foden. Cherki was the player sacrificed at halftime for Iliman Ndiaye, another forward simply trusted to be more defensively diligent.

CM: Enzo Fernández–7.4: The maverick element in City’s midfield threatened to do more harm than good before Maresca removed the possibility of another red card with his substitution.

LM: Antoine Semenyo–6.6: Meekly skirted around the periphery of proceedings.

ST: Erling Haaland–8.1: While the nature of his goal befuddled many, no one should doubt Haaland’s capacity to stay onside. Despite spending every game hanging on the last shoulder of the defender, City’s striker has been flagged just six times in the previous 50 Premier League appearances.

SUB: Iliman Ndiaye (46′ for Cherki)–6.8:

SUB: Nico O’Reilly (82′ for Fernández)–N/A

Subs not used: Gerónimo Rulli (GK), Abdukodir Khusanov, Allan, Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovačić, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Vitor Reis.

What the Ratings Tell Us

• Man Utd’s front four all disappointed. When denied any space to run into as City opted for more control and caution with 10 men on enemy soil, all of Rashford, Fernandes, Mbeumo and Cunha underwhelmed upfront for the hosts.
• It took 17 minutes for Haaland to have his first touch of Sunday’s derby. In that time, City’s No. 9 could have caught the tram from Old Trafford to central Manchester and still had time to find a spot in a local bar to watch his teammates pass the ball around him. But Haaland doesn’t care. The ruthless finisher polished off his first shot of the match which only came in the 60th minute-he didn’t need another.
• City’s problem position was supposed to be right back but Matheus Nunes dominated the high speed battle with Rashford. United’s returning great hope flattered to deceive on his derby comeback, scurrying into City’s box regularly but never with any sustained sense of threat.

The Numbers That Explain Controversial Derby

• Despite playing with a man fewer for more than two-thirds of the contest, City created a higher xG than United (0.99 to 0.95).
• However, almost half of United’s total xG was owed to Mbeumo’s squandered chance at the death, which an average player would have been expected to convert 41% of the time.
• The scoreline betrayed a game of fine margins. The woodwork was struck three times, with Rashford and Mainoo going close for United while Fernández had an effort tipped onto the post by Lammens.

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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 10:58 AM.