Erling Haaland customarily found the back of the net twice before laying on Phil Foden to rub salt into the Red Devils’ open wounds, as the hosts’ three-game winning run was snapped in embarrassing fashion against their bitter rivals.
Both coaches raised a few eyebrows with their team selections, as Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans were both given the nod in defence over Raphael Varane, while Jack Grealish ousted Jeremy Doku for Man City’s left-wing berth.
The Red Devils made a few forays into the City third straight away, but it only took eight minutes for the Old Trafford faithful to have their hearts in their mouths, as Andre Onana palmed a Foden header into the air before Maguire poked the ball off the line.
Pep Guardiola’s treble winners continued to come forward in droves, and they were up in arms in the 22nd minute, as Rasmus Hojlund grabbed a hold of Rodri inside the area and conceded a penalty following a VAR review.
Onana and the Man United crowd did their best to put Haaland off – the former picking up a booking for time-wasting tactics while the home fans bellowed out a chant about his father – but the Scandinavian sensation coolly sent Onana the wrong way to give City the lead in the 26th minute.
Hojlund desperately tried to make amends in the 31st minute as he got in behind the City defence and skipped past Ederson, but a heavy touch took him wide, and his cutback to Bruno Fernandes ended with the Portuguese firing over from a tight angle.
Tempers inevitably flared towards the end of the half, as Sofyan Amrabat and Foden both collected a yellow card following a brief set-to, but both goalkeepers stole the spotlight for the right reasons in added time.
The ever-threatening Scott McTominay was denied an equaliser by a strong hand from Ederson, before Onana scrambled across his line to somehow deny Haaland notching his second from a close-range header.
However, the Citizens striker had a carbon copy of that aerial opportunity in the 49th minute, and he was not to be denied a second time, being picked out in acres of space by Bernardo Silva at the back post before nodding past a diving Onana, who was unable to repeat his first-half heroics.
Rather than sit back and invite pressure from Man United, the champions continued to dominate the ball against their flat rivals, who had brought on Mason Mount for Amrabat at half time to little effect.
Out of nothing, however, Marcus Rashford found himself one-on-one with Ederson as Christian Eriksen picked out his gliding run beyond the Man City defence in the 69th minute, but he could not get the ball under his feet and fired wide from an acute angle.
Normal service resumed two minutes later, as Haaland was slipped through for a possible hat-trick, but Onana came out, stayed big and diverted the Norwegian’s chip behind for a corner with his face.
Boos erupted as Ten Hag withdrew Hojlund – who remains without his first Premier League goal – late on, and the away contingent continued to make all the noise as their side toyed with a Man United side completely devoid of motivation and belief.
Another passing sequence around the United box in the 80th minute ended with Rodri stinging the palms of Onana, who could only palm the ball out to Haaland on the right, and the 23-year-old turned provider for Foden to score City’s third from a yard out.
While they continued to make attacking inroads, a fourth goal eluded Man City, who therefore remain behind Arsenal on goals scored in third place, while Man United are five spots worse off in eighth with 15 points from their opening 10 games of the new term.
The Red Devils now prepare to continue their defence of the EFL Cup at home to Man City’s third-round conquerors Newcastle United on Wednesday, while Guardiola’s team return to the Etihad to meet Bournemouth next Saturday.
