Manchester City backed up their dominant derby win with another impressive display to sink Napoli.
Fifty Champions League goals and counting for Erling Haaland, who headed City ahead, was the eventual headline on a disappointing homecoming for City legend Kevin De Bruyne.
Here, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at the main talking points…
Manchester City backed up their dominant derby win with another impressive display to sink Napoli
Erling Haaland notched his 50th goal in the competition during the comfortable 2-0 victory
HOJLUND’S BATTLE SCARS
Rasmus Hojlund will – rightly – be sick of being in Manchester after a display that will have given him flashbacks to how he got on in the red half of the city.
Here was Hojlund, slogging with defenders, back to goal, feeding on scraps, getting frustrated at a lack of service and the only surprise was that he wasn’t doing all that in a Manchester United shirt.
Up until the early substitution of Kevin De Bruyne, Hojlund had mustered just two touches.
The reason staff and coaches at Napoli are convinced it will work this season on loan in Naples for the Dane is that they *will* play to his strengths where United didn’t.
They *will* play the ball into the channels for him to run onto. They *will* involve him in the build-up play.
By half-time he’d managed just seven touches and not a single one in the City box, caveated a touch by the fact Napoli found themselves down to 10 men for 75 minutes of this clash.
This was the perfect performance to underline exactly how not to use Hojlund.
Rasmus Hojlund will – rightly – be sick of being in Manchester after a display that will have given him flashbacks to how he got on in the red half of the city
CITY FIND THEIR FORMULA
One of the most curious discussion points when the City team dropped was just how shocking it was for Pep Guardiola to name an unchanged team.
On the face of it that’s not that surprising. Other managers will stick with the same team for weeks on end.
But not Guardiola and so in a week where he masterminded a thumping win over Manchester United, dominated a good Napoli team, and is preparing to lay down a statement in the Premier League title race away to Arsenal, sticking with the same side meant something.
Not since January 2025 have City fielded an unchanged starting XI in consecutive matches.
That was for a 2-0 win at Leicester (December 29, 2024) and a 3-1 home win versus West Ham (January 4, 2025). This time it was a 3-0 win over United and a 1-0 win over Napoli.
Phil Foden has recaptured that spring in his step, Erling Haaland is in his latest purple patch for goals, Jeremy Doku is providing match-winning and clinching moments, and City are winning with clean sheets to go with them.
Ever the tinkerman… even Guardiola is wise enough to admit the formula needs no alterations right now.
Pep Guardiola named an unchanged side for the clash – the first time he has done so since January this year
MILINKOVIC-SAVIC SHOWS UNITED WHAT THEY ARE MISSING
A lot of the build-up was for this one was centred on the aforementioned Hojlund and Scott McTominay and yet it was another ex-United player that stole the show for Napoli.
Goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic was outstanding even in defeat and was so often the brick wall Napoli were crying out for, not least when they went down to 10 men.
Given United found themselves crying out for a goalkeeper this summer – they eventually settled on Senne Lammens – it is quite something they didn’t try to prise this former player – who made six huge saves before his goal was breached by Haaland – back to the area.
Milinkovic-Savic joined United in May 2014 but was released in November 2015 after he failed to secure a work permit. He never made a senior appearance for the club.
Here was a timely reminder to those in the red half of Manchester of yet another one who got away…
Goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic was outstanding even in defeat and was so often the brick wall Napoli were crying out for
DOKU DOES IT AGAIN
It is so easy to see why Guardiola, his staff and City supporters get frustrated with Jeremy Doku.
He was the best player on the pitch on Sunday against United, running rings around Ruben Amorim’s dazed side, but for much of this was a source of a great deal of frustration.
Then he danced his way into the area, past four players like Lionel Messi, and scored.
Do that every week and he’ll be unstoppable, genuinely.
Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku continued his fine start to the new campaign with a goal against the Italians
FODEN FORM WILL DELIGHT PEP (AND TUCHEL!)
There’s a poster in the bowels of the Etihad Stadium that is yellow and blue and emblazoned on that backdrop is Phil Foden, hailed as the Player of the Year two seasons ago.
So much of last season felt like things could have been so different for City had Foden looked like the player many know he can be every time he steps on the pitch.
In 2023-24 he managed 27 goals in all competitions. Last season he managed just 13 from 49 games.
A lot was made, too, of his decision to pull out of England duty in June as part of his recharge, reloading ahead of a critical season for the 25-year-old get back on track.
Winning helps everything of course but Foden put in a man of the match display here looking happier if this performance was to be boiled down to its most basic level.
He smiled as he glided past opponents like they weren’t even there. That is the Foden City and England need if they are to achieve their objectives.
‘We missed him so much last season,’ Guardiola said recently. They really did too.
‘We need him so much. We cannot forget two seasons ago when we won the last game against West Ham [to win the title] he was the most important player of the Premier League.
After staring in the Manchester derby last weekend, Phll Foden again sparkled against Antonio Conte’s men
‘He was maybe the key player to win that league. Last season for injuries, for other reasons he could not be with us. Hopefully step by step he can get his best.’
Against Napoli he created 8 chances, the most in a single match in his entire City career. He also finished the night with an assist.
Step by step, Guardiola is right. It’s still September and Foden won’t be getting ahead of himself.
But the standard has been reset in the space of five days.
Foden is back… now City and England must hope he doesn’t go anywhere between now and the World Cup.
