Rooney: Manchester United Toothless in Defeat to City

Wayne Rooney said Manchester United were the better side against Manchester City and controlled the game before the break, but paid for indiscipline and a lack of a cutting edge in the final third

"I think Manchester United were the better team and were fully in control of the game before half-time, but they fouled too often and let City disrupt the rhythm of the match, which suited City perfectly. Once City scored, they controlled the game brilliantly, and United simply lacked quality, especially in the final third. Haaland's goal should not have stood — he was offside. But once City went ahead, they used all their experience and game management to frustrate United and stop them creating anything. They restricted their opponents to virtually one chance and never looked in danger themselves," said Rooney.

United are now eight points behind City, with one win from four league matches. Rooney said Michael Carrick "will undoubtedly be disappointed" with the start to the season.

"There were good moments, but one win in four league games speaks for itself. When the transfer window closed, it seemed to me that United still needed better players — not just to compete for places and add depth across competitions, but to come on during matches, add quality and change games. Today you were waiting for someone to come off the bench and make an impact, but you looked at that bench and didn't see many players capable of strengthening the attack. In the final third, everything looked pretty toothless," Rooney said.