Twitter erupts as Manchester City thrash Manchester United 4-1
Manchester City and Manchester United locked horns at the Etihad Stadium in what went down as an entertaining game of football between the two great rivals. The game was expected to be tightly contested due to the history of the fixture, but the Cityzens showed their class with a 4-1 win to go six points clear at the top of the table.
Cristiano Ronaldo's absence was the headline team news for the away side, with the Portuguese star reportedly missing out due to a hip problem. Edinson Cavani and Raphael Varane were also out, so Ralf Rangnick was forced to make a handful of changes to his squad.
Kevin De Bruyne broke the deadlock in the Manchester derby with a close-range finish, with the Manchester United backline left in tatters in the opening moments of the game. The home side dominated proceedings and threatened to double their advantage, but Manchester United struck back through Jadon Sancho, who found the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area to restore parity.
Manchester City grew in stature as the game progressed and restored their lead before half-time, as De Bruyne doubled his tally with another close-range finish after the ball ricocheted kindly towards him.
Manchester United lose to arch-rivals in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence
The second half showed the gulf of class between the two sides, as Manchester City took initiative of the game right from the get-go. Pep Guardiola's side dominated possession and added another goal through Riyad Mahrez, whose sweetly struck volley found its way into the back of the net via a slight deflection.
Mahrez scored another late in the game to cap off what turned out to be a happy outing for the hosts, as the table-toppers made a massive statement with a commanding victory.
On that note, here are some of the best tweets from a derby that turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Etihad Stadium.
Maguire is 29. There is no magical upward trajectory. His flaws will become more pronounced in the coming years. People like Chiellini, T.Silva & co. have always had incredible closing intensity, so they were destined to be ageless
United going from Ferdinand to Maguire https://t.co/646OJJSGbr
They once compared Wan-Bissaka to Trent.
I feel sick.
Maguire jeez what are you even good at
Please watch that goal again. Maguire, back to goal, let the ball go under his legs back into danger instead of just tapping it away for a corner.
Calling Harry Maguire a fridge is offensive to fridges….
Remember when tried running Maguire and Lindelof being better than VVD and Matip when they had all those 3pm kickoffs nobody was watching 😭😭😭😭😭
Jadon Sancho is the one, man.
Might be overreacting a little bit, but Jadon Sancho is England’s best forward.
I know his goal and assist stats are nice, but Bruno must be so jarring to watch as a United fan
The way he ruined that chance for Sancho…
🗣 Roy Keane on Sancho's goal: "Lovely. Absolutely beautiful." [Sky Sports]
JS, big game player.🤷🏽♂️
I’m crying De Gea finally comes out and takes Wan-Bissaka’s shins with him.
wan-bissaka plays football as if he's wearing sandals
The gap in quality from Shaw to Telles and Dalot to Wan-Bissaka is so obvious. Sometimes the only important analysis is looking at the personnel.
Wan-Bissaka was incredible for that. The flick over the challenge and then the outlet lob. Pogba’s pass was excellently weighted and Sancho’s brilliance finished it off. He’s been an efficient scorer throughout his career and showed why.
Pogba don't be a thug when you lose the ball challenge
Pogba stinking it up but getting goal contributions omds they're gonna do what they did in 2018
That Pogba dispossession there, that very nearly lead to a Man City goal is an example of those innate individual flaws to his game.
That's not a problem of system. It's him and it makes him too unreliable to be elite in the first or second phase in the league.
Pogba retain the ball in ur own half in a t6 game challenge (impossible)
unlocking Pogba: season six https://t.co/M6W6T75MRP
Rude of De Bruyne to break the unwritten rule that if a defender points at you, you're marked. https://t.co/m55lcnktGt
KEVIN DE BRUYNE OH MY GOD HE IS NOT FUCKING REAL
there are still people that think City are better without De Bruyne btw
Man I hate this De Bruyne guy
Mahrez is that fella in a group project who will turn up when you've finished all the work and sign off his name on it
Mohamed Salah
Riyad Mahrez 
Only two Premier League players have scored 20 goals across all competitions this season:
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah
🇩🇿 Riyad Mahrez 🆕
Respect Riyad. ✊ https://t.co/Sre4cJeXcT
Starting Mahrez in a game is like starting with 10 men, brother only starts playing when they’re 3 or 4 up
Dead serious I didn’t even know Mahrez was playing until now
RIYAD MAHREZ THE ALGERIAN KINGGGG 🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿
Sancho equalled CHO's league tally in 60 less games😭😭