Kevin De Bruyne has insisted that Manchester United were flattered by the 6-3 scoreline in Sunday's derby, despite Manchester City's emphatic victory at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat-tricks as City raced into a 4-0 lead by half-time, with the champions hitting the post and creating numerous other chances.
United pulled one back through Antony after the break, and substitute Anthony Martial scored two late consolations, but De Bruyne felt the final score did not reflect City's dominance. 'We set up quite good,' he said. 'We found the spaces in the first half and played a really good game. Unfortunately at the end they scored two goals because I think 6-1 was fully deserved.'
Haaland's treble was his third successive home Premier League hat-trick, a unique achievement in the competition's history. The Norwegian now has 17 goals in 11 appearances for City in all competitions, and also provided two assists for Foden. De Bruyne, who set up Haaland's second goal with a superb cross, said he is enjoying playing with the 22-year-old: 'I know he is going to make a run and if I know one of my team-mates is going to make a run I'm going to play them the ball.'
The victory moved City to within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal, and De Bruyne said the team are focused on winning a third consecutive title. 'This is what we are trying to achieve,' he said. 'The goal is always to win titles. We've started well, but it's still so long and there are a lot of interruptions this year. We'll see what happens. We're in a good way and we'll try to maintain it.'
