Man UTD has a decent record at his neighbours’ base and can take an important step to redress the balance of Manchester’s power when he goes to Etihad for the latest Derby
Andy Dunn is Mirror’s main sports writer.
Despite the halabaloo accompanying Manchester United’s modern struggle, it would not be surprising if today’s Derby goes to Etihad today. After all, Pep Guardiola managed to win just four of nine Premier League home fixtures against United. PEP lost four of these games, one is portrayed.
As City Manager, his overall record against United (if you count Ralf Rangnick’s six-month spell as official) is good, having five different official managers during Guardiola’s tenure.
But in the context of all the era of conquests of the city, that is not surprising. In all competitions, City has faced United 25 times since Guardiola took over in the summer of 2016, losing nine of those matches, earning 13 and three Gorez draws.
read more: Man UTD star showed his real colour after Sir Alex Ferguson called him “the worst signature ever.”read more: Reuben Amorim said he was making a huge man’s mistake by starting a “desperate” flop
Only against Liverpool and the Spurs was the Guardiola city experiencing more defeats (10). And Guardiola’s record against Reuben Amorim is overwhelming, winning only one of five meetings, drawing two and losing two.
Both United and City have gotten off to an unconvincing start to the season, with Amorim’s team ahead of their local rivals. United have created many opportunities, but still seem limited in the goalscoring division, but City’s defensive vulnerability (which appeared very strongly last season) remains there for everyone to see and exploit.
So, bookmakers have the city as their favorite of the latest version of the Manchester Derby, but it’s very difficult to call. Also, it’s probably not wise to read too much of the results.
After all, despite United’s good record at Etihad during the Guardiola era, City won six Premier League titles in that time span. Hitting a house with United’s hands rarely knocked out the city from their successful journey.
But United’s victory in this latest encounter will bring even more importance. At any time, it wasn’t an epic start to the current campaign, but considering he joined when he was already on track, this feels like the real beginning of the Amorim regime.
The departure of Andre Onana, who loaned it to Trabzonspor, is totally iconic, as the goalkeeper was one of the flagship signatures of the previous administration. In contrast, for all the transfer businesses the city has made in two transfer windows this year, perhaps the most important move to come and go in and out of Etihad in 2025 was Kevin de Bruin’s departure.
He was the flagship player for the entire Guardiola-City era. And it is still difficult to identify one as certainty that it will follow the influential footsteps of serial winners such as De Bruyne among all incoming calls.
A big leap of imagination is still needed to see PEP’s Premier League power fall this season and mark the emergence of Amorim’s excellence. But another united victory in Etihad certainly brings that scenario closer to it.
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