Manchester, March 4 (IANS) Two stunning goals by Phil Goden helped champions Manchester City come back from a goal deficit to hand archrivals Manchester United a 3-1 defeat in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
City fell behind to a thunderous Marcus Rashford goal scored against the run of play in the eighth minute and spent the next 50 minutes or so trying to find a way past a resolute United back-line. But Foden levelled the score in the 56th minute with a screamer into the top corner from 20 yards and then scored a delightful second, 10 minutes from the end of regulation time to make it 2-1 for the home side. Erling Haaland then wrapped up victory with a clinical finish following excellent work by Rodrigo to make it 3-1 in added time as the Blues moved within a point of leaders Liverpool.
With this win, Manchester City now have 62 points from 27 matches, with 19 wins, five draws and three defeats and are placed second behind Liverpool, who have 63 points from 27 matches. Arsenal are third with 58 points from 26 matches. Manchester United remain in the sixth position with 44 points from 27 matches.
City came out with all guns blazing and dominated the opening minutes of the match. An early shout for a penalty when Casemiro clashed with John Stones was turned down as United survived the early onslaught. They then stunned the City fans as they scored with their first shot on target.
United, clearly looking to play on the counterattack, raced forward into the rival half. Bruno Fernandes teed up Marcus Rashford who hit a thunderous drive in off the underside of the crossbar to give the visitors the lead in the eighth minute. Rashford then looked as though he would be clear through on goal as he ran onto a long pass, but Kyle Walker did enough to unsettle the United forward and the danger was cleared.
City attempted to restore parity quickly and when Foden raced clear of the United defence with 19 minutes on the clock, Andre Onana stood up and saved his shot. The remainder of the half was a strange affair, with City attacking continually but unable to find a way through a determined United backline. The start of the second half followed the same script before City finally managed to equalise.
They found it after 56 minutes, as a howitzer of a shot by Foden finally beat goalkeeper Onana and made it 1-1. The England star drove towards the United box, shifted to his left foot, and arrowed a shot into the top left-hand corner of the net to send the Etihad wild. City turned the screw even more in the last 30 minutes of the match, with United almost camped permanently in their own box.
It felt like just a matter of time before the Blues scored again. The Blues’ relentless pressure paid when Foden collected Alvarez’s pass, ghosted past one challenge and then placed a low shot past Onana to send the Etihad wild.
City controlled the final minutes and created more pressure on United’s defence. The high press on United’s defence saw Rodrigo win possession, the Spaniard fed the ball into Haaland’s path and the Norwegian slid the ball home to make it 3-1 and seal three points for Pep Guardiola’s side.
–IANS
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