Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes his former club’s dismal derby defeat to Manchester City has its roots in poor summer transfer business. The Red Devils suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of their bitter rivals at Old Trafford on Sunday, 13 September.
United had a man advantage for more than an hour after Phil Foden received his marching orders for a foul on Bruno Fernandes, but failed to break down a determined City backline. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo both hit the woodwork before Erling Haaland scored a controversial goal in the 60th minute.
Carrick brought on Benjamin Sesko and Joshua Zirkzee, but neither managed to have an impact. Bryan Mbeumo had a glorious opportunity to secure a point late in the game, but his effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
United have now lost two of their opening four Premier League games, picking up just one league win this season. Rooney has offered his views on the situation.
United allowed City back in the game
Speaking on BBC Sport, Rooney pointed out that United failed to capitalise on a decent first half. He said: “I thought Manchester United were the better team and dominated City up until half-time, but they gave away too many free-kicks and allowed the game to be slowed down, which suited City perfectly.”
“Once City got their goal, they managed the game brilliantly, and United just couldn’t find enough quality, especially in the final third.”
“Haaland’s goal should not have stood; it was offside, but as soon as City went ahead they used all their nous and game management to frustrate United. They restricted them to pretty much one chance and didn’t look in any danger at all.”
United registered 16 shots against City, only three of which were on target, but failed to score a goal. They now sit 13th in the Premier League table after four games, already eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
Details of Shots taken: Manchester Derby 2026
| Stat | Manchester United | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 16 | 6 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 2 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 1.00 | 1.10 |
| Expected goals on target | 0.28 | 0.97 |
| Hit woodwork | 2 | 1 |
| Shots off target | 9 | 1 |
| Blocked shots | 4 | 3 |
| Shots inside box | 6 | 2 |
| Shots outside box | 10 | 4 |
Source: Sofascore.
United needed to sign more players this summer
Rooney went on to acknowledge that United are already lagging behind in the title race and insisted that Carrick will not be pleased with the start. He continued: “United are already eight points behind City, and Michael Carrick will be disappointed with how they’ve started, no doubt about that.”
“There have been some good moments, but one win from four league matches tells its own story.”
Wazza argued that his former team-mate has been let down by INEOS over the summer, concluding: “When the transfer window closed, I felt United still needed better players, not only to provide competition for places and cover across all competitions, but to come on in games and provide that extra quality and change games.”
“You were just waiting for someone to be brought on and make an impact today, but you looked at the bench, and there weren’t many attacking threats to call on. It was all a bit toothless.”
Final Thoughts
United opted to focus entirely on midfield this summer, investing over £150 million in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba. Yet, with the team also competing in the Champions League, perhaps they could have done with further additions to the squad.
A new left-back to cover for Luke Shaw, a central defender and a striker could have helped Carrick build on that impressive end to last season.
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
