Bryan Mbeumo brought back the vintage Old Trafford days as the Theatre of Dreams went into raptures after the Cameroonian midfielder finally beat Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Manchester United the lead in a Premier League derby against Manchester City.
After a barren first half, it took Manchester United 20 more minutes to break the deadlock as Bruno Fernandes slid the ball through Mbeumo, who put the ball across the Italian Donnarumma into the net with a left-footer. Soon after the ball went in, the whole Old Trafford screamed in joy, something the Manchester United fans were waiting for a long time.
The goal came in after Donnarumma denied Manchester United as many as five time till the first goal at 65th minute. The Red Devils were luckny to get the services of Mbeumo after Cameroon were ousted in the African Cup of Nations at the hands of Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Patrick Dorgu doubled Manchester United's lead 11 minutes later when the Danish international found the back of the net. Matheus Cunha, running down the right, crossed for an unmarked Dorgu, who expertly finished past Donnarumma. Legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who was at the stands, celebrated like no other as the Old Trafford erupted once again.
Mason Mount did made the scoreline 3-0 for Manchester United, but his goal was not considered after a Video Assistant Review (VAR) review. The defeat clipped Manchester City's nine-game unbeaten run while Manchester United won their first after five games.
Manchester United's Michael Carrick era begins with win
After the departure of Ruben Amorim, Manchester United look different in Michael Carrick's first game as a manager of the Red Devils. Carrick, who played Manchester United for 12 years and finished his playing career at Old Trafford, became the eight man to take charge of the club in a Manchester derby since the departure of Ferguson.
On Saturday, Manchester United dominated ball possession right from the onset and had more shots on target than their rivals. The home side could have taken the lead inside the first few minutes had Harry Maguire's header not ricocheted off the cross bar.
The win lifted Manchester United to fourth spot in the Premier League, on level with Liverpool at 35 points. After the game, Lisandro Martinez revealed Carrick's words before the game. “Use the energy of the people and today we did it,” Argentinean Martinez revealed. Mbeumo stated, “Scoring in front them (fans) is unbealveable.”
