16 Conclusions, as Manchester City flatter United by only beating them 6-3

Manchester City eviscerated Manchester United in the derby, with three superb individual attacking performances from Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.

1. We’re barely into October, yet across sports desks the length and breadth of the country thesauruses are already starting to fall to pieces with over-use. This was an extraordinary afternoon in Manchester. City won the derby and scored six goals. Manchester United scored three for an eventual three-goal deficit that flattered them to a considerable degree. That, it would appear, is just how wide the gap is this season.

There’s been a suspicion since the summer that this Manchester City team is the best they’ve ever had, and that the Premier League title is theirs for the taking. Sorry Arsenal fans, but they’re just really, really good, and they proved just how good against a Manchester United team who left the pitch at the end of this match with the confidence built up over their last few Premier League matches looking severely shaken.

2. But this Manchester derby arrived with both clubs being in a better place than they were in at the end of last season. In the case of  Manchester City largely means even better, and this may be largely attributable to Hallanditis. The Norwegian goaltomaton took precisely one game to slot seamlessly into Pep’s system and has been blasting in goals like an improbable football cannon since. How many goals will he score this season? Forty? Sixty? It’s probably only a matter of time before some members of football’s brains trust or others wonder aloud whether he can break the Premier League’s all-time goalscoring record in one season.

But it’s not only the sky blue half of Manchester that has been feeling sanguine, of late. United had started to regain the slightest aura of swagger with four straight league wins, which included the considerable confidence-boosters of beating both Liverpool and Arsenal. Their summer transfer activity eventually ended up looking like a success that fell into their lap (Frenkie de Who?). That Christian Eriksen seemed overlooked by so many clubs during the summer that United were able to pick him up with relatively little resistance remains a surprise. Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia had all been obvious, notable upgrades. Many of the most disruptive elements had finally been cauterised from the club, and the dressing room is no longer leaking like a sieve.

And for all the improvements…