Michael Carrick's second stint in charge of Manchester United got off to a dream start as Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu scored in a 2-0 derby win over Manchester City.

Carrick – who was previously United's caretaker manager for three games in 2021 – insisted this week that Old Trafford had not lost any of its magic, and his team produced an enchanting performance to deal a further blow to City's dwindling title hopes.

United flew out of the traps as Harry Maguire headed against the crossbar from close range only three minutes in, while they were also denied by the offside flag twice in the first half.

Amad Diallo and Bruno Fernandes both rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma and tapped home only to see the flag raised, while Dorgu forced a good reaction save from Donnarumma.

City's best chance saw a combination of Senne Lammens and Diogo Dalot block Max Alleyne's header, and things did not get any better for Pep Guardiola's team after half-time.

Mbeumo started and finished a fluid counter-attack from a City free-kick in the 65th minute, rolling his finish across Donnarumma after being teed up by Fernandes.

And Dorgu effectively killed the contest when he swept home from Matheus Cunha's right-wing cross in the 76th minute, with United passing up further chances to make the scoreline more emphatic.

Amad fired against the post after turning Nathan Ake inside-out, while Mason Mount became the third United player to have a goal disallowed when he turned another Cunha centre home.

City could now find themselves nine points adrift of Arsenal by the end of Saturday's play, while United climb, at least temporarily, into the top four. 

Data Debrief: Derby-day magic for Carrick

Carrick could hardly have asked for a better start to his second stint in the United dugout, and he remains unbeaten in four games in charge of the Red Devils overall (W3 D1).

Mbeumo was at the heart of everything positive for United, having been fielded as a centre-forward in Carrick's 4-2-3-1 system. This was his seventh Premier League appearance against City, and he scored his first goal against them in the competition.

Since the start of last season, only Mohamed Salah (eight) and Antoine Semenyo (six) have scored more Premier League goals from fast breaks than Mbeumo's five.

Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, has now suffered 10 defeats to United – his joint-most against any club in his managerial career (also versus Liverpool and Tottenham).

Demonstrating just how far off the pace City were, Erling Haaland had only 14 touches with two coming in the United box.

The Norwegian has gone seven games without scoring a non-penalty goal – his longest run while playing for a team in Europe's top five leagues (Man City or Borussia Dortmund).