Manchester City reopened a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-1 victory over Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, thanks to goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez.
The defeat widens the gap between the clubs to 22 points, putting United’s chances of even qualifying for the Champions League next season in jeopardy.
The Red Devils are now a point behind Arsenal in fourth place, who also have three games in hand.
At the top of the standings, Liverpool also has a game in hand to cut City’s lead to three points.
However, Pep Guardiola’s men responded to the pressure put on them by Liverpool’s seven-game winning streak in the league by recovering from two subpar performances against Tottenham and Everton.
There was a gulf in class between the sides, just as there was in their earlier season meeting at Old Trafford, as City secured only their second league double over their local rivals since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 shifted the balance of power in Manchester.
United were missing injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani in attack, but it was the presence of defenders Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw, who were absent due to coronavirus positive cases, that was most felt.
The visitors were breached by City’s first sustained attack, as Bernardo Silva’s low cross found De Bruyne completely unmarked inside the box, allowing him to sweep home from just inside the box.
Despite their recent dominance over United in terms of finishing higher in the table, City had only won one of the last seven derbies at the Etihad.
United have had a lot of success on the counter-attack during that time, and the pace of Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga caused problems once again.
After growing tired of waiting for a chance in the first team, Sancho left City as a 17-year-old to make his name at Borussia Dortmund.
After returning to the Premier League for a fee of £73 million ($97 million), the England international took some time to settle in at United.
However, Sancho has been one of the few bright spots in Ralf Rangnick’s interim tenure, scoring a stunning goal into the far corner on 22 minutes.
United captain Harry Maguire has had to deal with more reports this week that members of his own team are questioning whether he is qualified to lead the team.
More criticism is sure to come Maguire’s way after he was caught off guard twice for City’s second goal.
When England’s Phil Foden was denied by a brilliant save from David de Gea, the loose ball eventually found its way to De Bruyne, who smashed home.
Rangnick’s team then had to withstand a period of sustained pressure just to make it to halftime still in the game.
After a perfect De Bruyne pass, Foden fired wide before more De Gea heroics prevented Riyad Mahrez from finding the bottom corner.
After the break, the one-way traffic continued, and only another day this season when De Gea was United’s best performer prevented an even more humiliating rout.
The Spaniard held on to De Bruyne’s fierce free kick before Mahrez blazed over from the edge of the box.
However, United failed to learn their lesson as the Algerian was left unmarked at the edge of the box when he was picked out by De Bruyne’s corner and connected sweetly to find the far corner.
De Gea had to make more saves against Riyad Mahrez and Joao Cancelo.
Even he couldn’t stop Mahrez’s powerful effort in stoppage time to rub salt in United’s wounds after VAR ruled the City winger wasn’t offside.
