Facundo Pellistri aims savage dig at Man City fans ahead of Manchester derby | OneFootball

Highlights

The Manchester derby takes place this weekend, bringing one of the most exciting rivalries in English football back to the forefront. The match has been responsible for some incredible moments over the years, with Wayne Rooney's incredible overhead kick coming to mind immediately. The contest means a lot to fans on either side and some of the players get involved too.

Ahead of the return this weekend, one player who couldn't resist making a dig at his opposition is Facundo Pellistri. The Manchester United man has been with the Red Devils for three years now, joining the academy in 2020 and recently broke into the first team. This year, he's made four appearances in the Premier League, matching last year's grand total already, and he's clearly enjoying his added workload.

Despite only being at Old Trafford for three years, the forward clearly already knows how intense the rivalry is between the two halves of Manchester and couldn't resist poking the bear and aiming a dig at Manchester City fans when given the opportunity. It's sure to get the blue half of the city riled up, but that's what the derby is all about.

Pellistri has impressed this season

Off the back of his slow emergence into the first team last season, when Pellistri made 10 appearances in the United side, he's been given more opportunities this time around and has played six times in all competitions for the club so far this year. He's been solid as well, showing glimpses of the promise that caused the Red Devils to sign him in the first place.

He's yet to score for the side, but his start has been encouraging and there certainly seems to be a bright future ahead of him at Old Trafford. If he keeps making these sorts of taunts at City, the Red Devils fans will have no trouble getting behind him either.

Pellistri poked fun at City's smaller fanbase

While speaking to Carve Deportiva, Pellistri couldn't resist making a dig at City's fanbase and the fact it is significantly smaller than United's. In the past, numerous rival fanbases have used the Cityzen's fanbase as an area to mock as it isn't quite as big as the other top sides in England.

Pellistri wanted to get in on the action and when talking about the derby on Sunday, he said: "Manchester is all about United. You don't see City shirts or flags. Sometimes, with my girlfriend, we go out and say let's try to find one, and we don't see them.” The comment is pretty brutal and essentially claims that none of City's fans are actually from Manchester and the city is actually filled with United supporters instead.

That's probably not entirely true, but it's still a funny dig for Pellistri which will only add fuel to the fire ahead of the weekend's highly anticipated match. Check out the table below to see the last five results between Manchester United and Manchester City.