Manchester United's Champions League hopes is on a thin ice following their 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at Etihad.
Three second-half goals from Phil Foden and Erling reversed Manchester United's 1-0 lead at the break to hand City a 3-1 win.
Marcus Rashford gave United the lead 11 minutes into the game after he latched on Bruno Fernandes' assist to fire a rocket into the back of the net from outside the box.
Manchester City battled fruitlessly to find the equaliser all to no avail as a solid defensive display by United earned the away a lead at the break.
It was a different ball game in the second half. Manchester City ramped up the pressure and finally got pass the red wall through Phil Foden's masterclass opener.
A few minutes after pegging United to a 1-1 draw, Foden struck again to give City a deserved lead. From a half-time lead to trailing 2-1 in the second half, United did little to mount a response as City maintained a dominant grip on proceedings despite taking turning the game around to take charge.
It was just a matter of time before the Premier League champions wrapped up the victory. Erling Haaland scored the final goal to put the game beyond the visitors.
While the Cityzens wrestled all three points in the game, the Red Devils had their hopes for a Champions League football next season in tatters. They are six points away from Tottenham in 5th place and 11 points away from Aston Villa in 4th place.
Despite the seeming deadlock encircling the team's bid for Champions League football next season, all hopes is not lost.
They can still qualify for the Champions League next season if they finish in top-five, not only top-four.
Theoretically, England could have as many as seven clubs in the Champions League next season based on the new arrangement of the elite club competition in Europe.
If English clubs win the Champions League and Europa League and fail to finish in the top five, they will earn an automatic slot in the Champions League next season, joining the top-five teams in the league.
If the Champions League and Europa League-winning clubs finish in the top five, England will still be restricted to their four or five slots in the tournament.
England currently have four Champions League slots. The four slots will likely end with the current Champions League campaign. UEFA's new format which stretches the competition to a 36-team European championship will allow additional slots to leagues with best-performing clubs in all UEFA club competitions.
England and Italy are the top two UEFA association members with top performing clubs in UEFA competitions. They are more likely to be awarded the two additional slots if they maintain a superior performance in the competition this season as well to boost their UEFA coefficients.
Three second-half goals from Phil Foden and Erling reversed Manchester United's 1-0 lead at the break to hand City a 3-1 win.
Marcus Rashford gave United the lead 11 minutes into the game after he latched on Bruno Fernandes' assist to fire a rocket into the back of the net from outside the box.
Manchester City battled fruitlessly to find the equaliser all to no avail as a solid defensive display by United earned the away a lead at the break.
It was a different ball game in the second half. Manchester City ramped up the pressure and finally got pass the red wall through Phil Foden's masterclass opener.
A few minutes after pegging United to a 1-1 draw, Foden struck again to give City a deserved lead. From a half-time lead to trailing 2-1 in the second half, United did little to mount a response as City maintained a dominant grip on proceedings despite taking turning the game around to take charge.
It was just a matter of time before the Premier League champions wrapped up the victory. Erling Haaland scored the final goal to put the game beyond the visitors.
While the Cityzens wrestled all three points in the game, the Red Devils had their hopes for a Champions League football next season in tatters. They are six points away from Tottenham in 5th place and 11 points away from Aston Villa in 4th place.
Despite the seeming deadlock encircling the team's bid for Champions League football next season, all hopes is not lost.
They can still qualify for the Champions League next season if they finish in top-five, not only top-four.
Theoretically, England could have as many as seven clubs in the Champions League next season based on the new arrangement of the elite club competition in Europe.
If English clubs win the Champions League and Europa League and fail to finish in the top five, they will earn an automatic slot in the Champions League next season, joining the top-five teams in the league.
If the Champions League and Europa League-winning clubs finish in the top five, England will still be restricted to their four or five slots in the tournament.
England currently have four Champions League slots. The four slots will likely end with the current Champions League campaign. UEFA's new format which stretches the competition to a 36-team European championship will allow additional slots to leagues with best-performing clubs in all UEFA club competitions.
England and Italy are the top two UEFA association members with top performing clubs in UEFA competitions. They are more likely to be awarded the two additional slots if they maintain a superior performance in the competition this season as well to boost their UEFA coefficients.