Rio Ferdinand admits he was wrong about Man Utd after hammering at hands of Man City

Rio Ferdinand was forced to admit the “gulf in class” between the two Manchester rivals was far greater than he suspected ahead of kick-off after witnessing his former side embarrassed the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat tricks as Pep Guardiola’s side ran riot at the Etihad Stadium, with the away side firmly put to the sword.

Foden opened the scoring with a close-range finish after being afforded way too much time and space in the box to fire home.

Haaland then doubled City’s lead with a header from a corner before latching onto Kevin De Bruyne’s sublime ball just moments later to poke home a third.

The Norwegian then turned provider for Foden as City unleashed a lethal counter-attack which saw the forward slide the ball into the path of Foden, who remained cool and dispatched past David De Gea

United had been in good form heading into the derby, winning five of their last six games, however, City’s emphatic first 45 minutes means they are on course to move to within a point of league leaders Arsenal.

As City fans rejoiced, United fans and associates were left with glum looks and Ferguson weren’t exempt from that.

What do you think is going through Sir Alex Ferguson mind at this moment? #MCIMUN pic.twitter.com/Yv0KheMBGY

— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) October 2, 2022

By the time the second half had started there had already been a mass exodus in the away end, with many not willing to stay for the second 45.

Anthony Martial then came off the bench to score twice – once from the penalty spot – but it wasn’t enough as City’s work earlier in the game left them with a margin too significant to come back from.

Antony reduced the deficit with a stunning, curling effort 55 minutes in. Still, it wasn’t enough to spark a comeback as City soon returned to their free-scoring selves as Haaland and Foden completed their hat tricks.

Many United supporters will not have seen the three goals – which flattered the visitors – as dozens of them could be seen leaving the stadium just before half-time, when City were 4-0 up.

The crushing defeat brought an end to the Red Devils’ four-game winning run in the top flight, which had prompted hope that Erik ten Hag had found a successful formula.

Ferdinand was among those who was pleased with what he had seen from United in recent weeks and suspected the difference in quality between his old club and City was not too large. However, the masterclass from Haaland, Foden and their teammates left the former England defender in no doubt that there is indeed an enormous gap to the Premier League champions.

“The gulf in class between Manchester United and Manchester City is bigger than I thought before this game had kicked off,” he wrote on Twitter. Ferdinand was so disheartened by what he saw from United that he said he wanted to hide in a “bunker” and, in another tweet, he wrote: ” WhatsApp groups on fire…for all the wrong reasons.”

Ferdinand’s former teammate Gary Neville was equally dejected while serving as co-commentator for Sky Sports at the Etihad. Speaking after Haaland put City 3-0 up following a delightful pass from Kevin De Bruyne, he said: ” His [Ten Hag’s] players have bottled it.