Following Man City's first-half destruction of their rivals Man United, Robbie Mustoe had some strong words for manager Erik ten Hag, as he accused the Dutchman of getting his tactics wrong and said the team had been 'embarrassed.'

City raced out to a 4-0 halftime lead behind two goals each from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, as United were carved up all over the field en route to a 6-3 loss.

Antony pulled a goal back for United in the 56th minute with a stunning left-footed strike before Anthony Martial scored a brace off the bench, but it didn't change the outcome of the match after a poor showing from the Red Devils in the first half. 

'We admire a manager who trusts his players and says, "we've won the last four, we're going to do the same thing again,' Mustoe said on NBC Sports. 'This is different, isn't it?'

'He's got it wrong. The manager knows the profile of those midfield players. He knows that Antony isn't gonna track back and help that side, they've been destroyed on that side.'

Erik Ten Hag's side were carved apart in the first half at the Etihad Stadium

'They've been embarrassed. And the main reason I said that Rebecca, about the lineup, is midfield players. The back four have been stretched like crazy, but when you've got midfield players that want to just attack and don't want to defend and protect the back four.

'Kevin de Bruyne is running free, running wild and destroying the team, as all the forwards are for city.

Ten Hag started the match with Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay in central midfield with Bruno Fernandes ahead, as a relentless City piled pressure on United.

De Bruyne assisted Haaland for two goals in the first half, as Jack Grealish ran rampant on the left wing as well, causing problems for Antony and Diogo Dalot. The right back picked up a yellow card in just the second minute.

Six minutes later, City went ahead via a deft Foden finish.

'This is a reappearance of the United from the first two games,' Mustoe's colleague Robbie Earle said. 'All that hard work has been undone, all that points they've got... it's gone in 45 minutes.'

'This looks like the bad old Manchester United days again, which will have shocked Ten Hag at halftime. He's has got work to do in that dressing room to at least stop the rot and make sure they don't concede too many goals... but the players have to take responsibility as well. They've let him down today.'