'Very bad day at the office' - Eriksen assesses Manchester derby nightmare as City hit United for six

• Four goals down by half-time
• No minutes for Ronaldo
• Performance billed as unacceptable

WHAT HAPPENED? The Red Devils fell behind early at the Etihad Stadium and found themselves four goals down by the interval, as many of their supporters headed for an early exit. Phil Foden and Erling Haaland both hit hat-tricks for the hosts, with Eriksen conceding that a disappointing performance from the visitors – who had won their last four Premier League games – was unacceptable and forces them back to the drawing board.

WHAT THEY SAID: Danish playmaker Eriksen told Sky Sports of a humbling afternoon for United: “It came very heavy. Everyone feels it was a very bad day at the office. We started on the wrong foot. They had chances straight from kick-off.

“We can only blame ourselves. We missed a bit of courage to play out from the back and we let them be at their strength. The main focus from this game will be on ourselves. There are a lot of things we need to change and a lot of things we need to do better. Today was far from acceptable from what we should be doing.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Antony hit an impressive second-half goal for United, while Anthony Martial stepped off the bench to bag a brace, but a side that opted to give no game time to Cristiano Ronaldo never looked like holding their own against the defending champions.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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DID YOU KNOW? Since the start of 2020-21, Man Utd have conceded 4+ first-half goals in four Premier League games (v Spurs in Oct 2020, Liverpool in Oct 2021, Brentford in Aug 2022, Man City today); this is twice as often as any other side in this time.

WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD? The Red Devils will be in Europa League action against Omonia on Thursday, while a trip to Everton next Sunday will give them a chance to offer a positive response in Premier League competition.