Phil Foden scored a brace and Erling Haaland provided the insurance goal as Manchester City came back from an early deficit to beat Manchester United 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

It was yet another second-half comeback for the three-time-defending Premier League champions this weekend, who have made a bit of a habit to trail early in matches at times this season.

Following the victory, Manchester City remain just one point behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table, with a potential title decider against them just one week away at Anfield.

Manchester City took control from the start of the match, working the ball from side to side, trying to find any opening to take advantage of. But just eight minutes in, disaster struck. Andre Onana played a ball over the top of City’s defence to Bruno Fernandes, who carried it to the edge of the box and played a ball into the path of Marcus Rashford who rifled in a shot from 30 yards out.

It was a world-class strike from Rashford that rattled off the underside of the crossbar and into the net, Ederson attempted to stretch out to get a hand to it but the Brazilian stood no chance ultimately.

Despite trailing early, the treble winners responded well. They created a litany of chances, continued to manipulate Manchester United’s defence and mustered a few chances on target. City had their best moment to equalise in the 45th minute when Foden found Haaland wide open within the six yard box. The Norwegian striker could not take advantage of the chance and somehow managed to hit his volley over the bar.

Unlike many of their trademark comebacks this season, City didn’t have the usual strong start coming out of half-time. That feeling was evident in the crowd’s reaction, who began to turn from cheering to shouts of frustration after the opening 10 minutes. Despite the lacklustre start, there was a response.

Foden found himself face-to-face with Victor Lindelof around 25 yards from goal. The 23-year-old feinted right and then carried it to his left, creating a yard of space to fire in a lovely effort to the upper corner of the net. Onana attempted to save it, but just like Ederson in the first half, there was nothing he could do.

Just moments after Foden’s equaliser, Pep Guardiola brought on Julian Alvarez for Jeremy Doku. Alvarez slotted into his attacking midfielder spot, with Bernardo Silva going out wide left. However, after a few minutes Foden and Bernardo would swap wings, and it ended up being the correct decision.

In the 80th minute, Foden carried the ball forward, played a ball to Alvarez at the edge of the box, who immediately gave it back to Foden driving toward the left side of the box. The 23-year-old carried it all the way to the six yard box and calmly pushed it passed Onana at the far post.

It was a deserved goal from Manchester City, who had spent the past several minutes launching a siege on United’s defensive line. As the 90th minute hit, the fourth official raised his scoreboard to unveil eight minutes of extra time. It was a moment of stress, considering the trend of elongated second half stoppage times for Manchester City as of late.

However, just three minutes into stoppage time Rodri and Haaland teamed up to give Manchester City their insurance goal. A poor giveaway from Manchester United on the edge of their own box allowed Rodri to put Haaland through on goal, and the Norwegian took advantage of his second chance of the match to seal the victory.

After yet another derby day win, and the completion of a league double over their bitter rivals, here is how we rated Manchester City’s player performances from a comeback victory of the highest order!

Player Ratings

Ederson – 6.5

Fine perfomance, couldn’t have done anything to prevent Manchester United’s goal.

Kyle Walker – 7

Good not great, at least one of his two shots was on target. His pace helped stop quite a few counter attacks, including the one seconds before Foden’s winner.

Ruben Dias – 6.5

His slip could’ve made it a two goal deficit, but was bailed out by Walker’s pace and Rashford’s poor touch early in the second half. Rare poor performance but has been solid for a few weeks now.

Nathan Ake – 8

Solid as always, unsung hero.

Rodri – 8.5

Was influential all over the pitch, trademark performance.

John Stones – 7

Quiet performance, at times helped bring control to the left side of City’s attack.

Phil Foden – 9.5

Man of the Match. Barely put a foot wrong, maybe should’ve finished one of his chances in the first half but made up for it with two wonderful second half goals. Far from a luxury player.

Kevin De Bruyne – 8

Confusing performance. Played a few killer balls that City couldn’t take advantage of, but also misfit quite a few chances and most of his shots weren’t even close to the target.

Bernardo Silva – 8.5

Was comfortably the best player on the pitch in the first 20 minutes, but faded away in the second half.

Jeremy Doku – 6.5

Disappointing performance. Had a few bright spots early in the first half, but also seemed to give the ball away for fun at times.

Erling Haaland – 7

His miss nearly cost City the game, fortunately his second effort somewhat made up for it. Thought that after a five goal performance a few days ago he was back to his best, but maybe not yet.

Substitutes

Julian Alvarez – 6.5

Oscar Bobb – N/A