Our 3️⃣ points as Man City come from behind to defeat Man Utd | OneFootball

Manchester City came from behind to defeat Manchester United 3-1 in the derby.

Here is what we made of it.

Foden still coming to the fore

The attention might usually be on Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for Manchester City, but Phil Foden is proving to be their go-to guy at the moment.

After match-winning performances in recent weeks against Bournemouth and Brentford, he stepped up again today with the two goals that helped turn the game in City's favour.

His first was an absolute screamer from the edge of the box, his second a confident finish inside the box after a neat one-two with Julián Álvarez around a tired United defence. Both displayed his range in front of goal, and his defensive work was evidence of a true team player.

Foden now has 11 league goals for the season - a joint-best return - and there still is 11 games to go, while seven assists are the best tally of his career so far.

After not being a starter in the treble run-in last season, Foden is now a mandatory first-choice in Pep Guardiola's side as they chase a fourth consecutive league title and maybe more. His manager said as much after the game, calling him their "most decisive" player this season.

Surely, he will also be one of the first names on the team sheet this summer for Gareth Southgate?

United's decline evident once more

Few, if any, Manchester United fans were confident of a win heading into the derby, with most just hoping to avoid another mauling at the home of their cross-town rivals.

This lack of belief was amplified by recent injuries to Rasmus Højlund, Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw among others, which has further exposed the deep cracks in Erik ten Hag's squad and system, as well as the deep decline of the club as a whole.

The performance in the home loss against Fulham last week was another hugely damaging one for the Dutch manager as it again pointed to his apparent system being non-existent unless he has all of his first-choice players fit.

Today, it was slightly different, as United more or less parked the bus, both before and after Marcus Rashford's stunning eighth-minute opener. However, this almost had to be case given United lined up with 36-year-old Johnny Evans in central defence, Victor Lindelof as a makeshift left back and without a recognised striker.

That, again, signifies major issues with both squad building and recruitment in the last several years, which feels like a groundhog day conversation at this point.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to knock City and Liverpool off their perches in the coming years. It feels like quite the task, one that is unlikely to come with ten Hag or many of the current squad.

All eyes on Anfield now

City's derby win came in their first game of what might end up being the pivotal month in the Premier League title race.

Next Sunday sees them travel to Anfield for a summit meeting with Liverpool, who they sit just one point behind at the top of the table. It is a ground where Guardiola, and his side overall, have a wretched record with just the one win in the last 20 years.

A victory might not be absolutely required next week, but they will be coming up against a Jürgen Klopp side that is shorn of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and other key players. Three points would put them top and in an excellent position in what could turn out to be the best league run-in for a decade.

Not since 2013/14 have three teams been this close together with 11 games to go - that is assuming Arsenal take care of business against basement boys Sheffield United on Monday night at Bramall Lane.

The Gunners visit the Etihad Stadium at the end of the month in another game that will likely help shape the destination of the title.

But for now, all attention turns to Anfield in the latest, and possibly last, clash between Klopp and Guardiola.