Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City convincingly dispatched rivals Manchester United 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium, getting back to winning ways after successive defeats.
City started Sunday's derby nine points adrift of defending Premier League champions Liverpool, but they provided a timely reminder of their quality.
Phil Foden marked his first start of the season with an 18th-minute opener from Jeremy Doku's cross, before Haaland ran riot after the break.
Haaland capped a flowing move with a dinked finish to make it 2-0, and after striking against a post when faced with an open goal, he darted in behind to put the result beyond all doubt in the 68th minute.
City debutant Gianluigi Donnarumma made one strong save to deny Bryan Mbeumo, but United were second-best throughout and drop to 14th with four points, two behind City in eighth.
How the match unfolded
Haaland skewed wide when presented with City's first chance after 18 seconds, but the hosts made the breakthrough when Doku burst into the penalty area in the right channel, and though his initial cross was blocked, his follow-up delivery was smartly nodded in by Foden.
United's only shot of the first half was a sighter from Benjamin Sesko, and the Red Devils fell further behind eight minutes into the second half, Haaland clipping a finish over Altay Bayindir after excellent work from Nico O'Reilly, Foden and Doku.
Haaland should have had his second when he prodded against a post with the goal gaping two minutes later, before Donnarumma tipped Mbeumo's volley wide at the other end.
Gianluigi Donnarumma. pic.twitter.com/Ak0MCUWKAb
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 14, 2025
But the contest was put beyond Ruben Amorim's men when Harry Maguire's loose pass allowed Bernardo Silva to send Haaland through on goal, and the Norwegian made no mistake.
Tijjani Reijnders passed up a chance to make it 4-0, while United's best opportunity for a consolation fell to Casemiro, who turned wide of an open net.
Foden and Haaland provide more derby heroics
With City's three points from three matches representing Pep Guardiola's worst start to a league season in his managerial career, the hosts were acutely aware of the importance of a win.
Guardiola made a couple of big calls with his team selection, throwing Donnarumma straight in following the goalkeeper's move from Paris Saint-Germain and reintroducing Foden, who was limited to just 15 minutes across City's opening three games.
Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference that he wanted to see Foden playing with "joy", and the England international certainly had a smile on his face after stretching to nod Doku's cross past Bayindir.
It was Foden's seventh goal in Manchester derbies in the Premier League, and at that stage, only Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney had more, with eight apiece.
But Haaland would draw level with that pair of Manchester icons with his second-half brace. The only surprise was that he failed to get his hat-trick, producing a glaring miss from inside the six-yard box at 2-0.
Guardiola will hope this victory can give his team lift-off ahead of a crucial week, as they open their UEFA Champions League campaign against Napoli – and City great Kevin De Bruyne – on Thursday before visiting Arsenal in the Premier League next Sunday.
The three points represented a positive end to a poignant day for City, who paid tribute to lifelong fan and boxing legend Ricky Hatton with a minute's applause before kick-off, after he passed away at the age of 46.
Midfield battle passes United by
Amorim got a landmark 2-1 win at the Etihad just a few weeks into his reign last December, with Bruno Fernandes and Amad striking in the closing stages to stun City.
That victory, it could be argued, remains the high point of Amorim's tenure. The former Sporting boss came under renewed pressure following a shock EFL Cup exit at the hands of Grimsby Town last month, though a 3-2 win over Burnley provided some respite.
But if Amorim thought that result could be a turning point for the Red Devils, he was mistaken.
United were a distant second-best from the first whistle. Sesko made his first Premier League start in attack, but he was isolated before being substituted with 80 minutes on the clock, and his only effort at goal resulted in a comfortable save for Donnarumma.
But United's foremost issue, as is so often the case, was in midfield. Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte were outnumbered in the middle of the park, with Foden and Reijnders not picked up as they drifted into dangerous positions.
Unlike Guardiola, Amorim resisted the temptation to make a change in goal following the signing of Senne Lammens.
But after Bayindir was forced to pick the ball out of his net three times, while he also endured some nervy moments in possession, Lammens' chance may come soon.
United face another daunting test next Saturday, as they welcome unbeaten Chelsea to Old Trafford.
Club reports
Man City report | Man Utd report
What the managers said
Pep Guardiola: "We are in a situation with a start we didn't expect. We want to be close and still fighting for titles. We have many things to improve. We are not yet a team but step by step. The victory helps us a lot. [Foden] played incredible. He is a guy who loves to arrive at the box. Our last Premier League title he was the best player in the Premier League. We need him so much."
Ruben Amorim: "We can do better, especially the second goal. We suffered goals we can avoid. The biggest difference was when we had transitions, we didn't score. In the second half they did better in transition and we suffered in that moment. In these kind of games we need to be perfect and in this game we were not perfect. The frustration is always the same because with the amount of chances we need to score goals."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Haaland scored his 50th goal in his 50th home Premier League game for Man City. In the competition's history, only Alan Shearer required fewer home appearances to hit 50 home goals (47).
With just four points from four games (W1 D1 L2), this is Man Utd’s poorest start to a league season since 1992/93, when they also had four points from their opening four matches under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Man Utd have picked up just 14 points in 16 away games in the Premier League under Amorim (W3 D5 L8); since his first game in charge in November last season, this is the fewest away points of any ever-present side in the competition.
This was the 57th Premier League Manchester derby – but the first of those not to see a single yellow or red card shown.