Haaland (Man City) faces Maguire - Photo: REUTERS
And then, starting last season, fans witnessed a strange situation: both teams declined simultaneously.
Declining together
The Manchester derby will take place at 10:30 PM on September 14th (Vietnam time) at the Etihad Stadium, as part of the fourth round of the Premier League. Even though it's only the start of the season, both teams must give their all to avoid another disastrous season.
Man City and Man United both experienced a decline last season. For Man City, Pep Guardiola's era seemed to be finally coming to an end. Pressure from over 100 allegations of financial misconduct, coupled with key players declining past their prime, led to Man City being eliminated from the Premier League title race for the first time in years.
There were times when experts believed Man City had truly made a comeback. But then a series of failures in the Champions League (last season), in the FIFA Club World Cup (this summer), and two consecutive defeats against Tottenham and Brighton extinguished that belief. Ultimately, manager Pep Guardiola seemed to have run out of tricks and began facing pressure to be sacked.
As for Manchester United, it's all just the same old story. Every summer, the "Red Devils" make a fuss, promising a powerful "revival" after signing a host of superstars. But then things go back to how they were, with each new manager being worse than the last. The new manager is worse than the previous one, the players are more expensive, but they perform even worse.
Can coach Amorim beat Pep? - Photo: REUTERS
Pep and Amorim's dead end
Both Man City and Man United have had a very poor start to the season. Although Man United currently have a one-point lead over their rivals, no "Red Devils" fan can be optimistic ahead of the Manchester derby. Conversely, for the first time in 10 years, Man City fans feel that their team isn't necessarily stronger than their city rivals.
In dire straits, both teams are plagued by injuries. The international break cost Man City another crucial player, Omar Marmoush, bringing their injury list to nearly 10. Besides Marmoush, they are also certain to be without Cherki, Kovacic, and Savinho for this match, while Gvardiol, Stones, Foden, and Khusanov are racing against time to recover.
Manchester United are in a similar predicament, missing Lisandro Martinez, Zirkzee, Mazraoui, Cunha, and Mount. The absence of the Cunha-Mount duo is a significant blow to manager Amorim's hopes of a comeback, as these two players are crucial to his 3-4-3 formation.
But Amorim couldn't complain. Manchester United had a busy summer, spending over €250 million to meet the Portuguese manager's transfer demands. That's not even counting the fact that they let go of almost all of Erik Ten Hag's "favorite pupils" due to disagreements with Amorim. The Red Devils had gone all-in on every personnel request from the Portuguese manager, and now it was time for him to face the consequences head-on.
Similarly, Pep Guardiola has nothing to complain about, as in the last two transfer windows alone, the club's management has spent around half a billion euros to fully meet all his demands.
One of the most lackluster Manchester derby matches in the last two decades, yet still a high-stakes derby, featuring stars needing to prove themselves and managers who are always lauded…
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/derby-am-dam-cua-thanh-manchester-20250914002120738.htm
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