Rio Ferdinand changes his opinion on comparison between Manchester United and Man City after Red Devils' 6-3 derby loss

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has admitted that his former club have quite some distance to go before they can get to arch-rivals Manchester City's level.

Ferdinand's comments came in the aftermath of the Red Devils' 6-3 humbling at the hands of City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (October 2). Erik ten Hag's side looked helpless against the hosts and were down and out by half-time, having gone 4-0 down.

At the end of the first half, Ferdinand, who competed in several Manchester derbies during a 12-year stay at Old Trafford, tweeted:

"The gulf in class between @ManUtd & @ManCity is bigger than I thought before this game had kicked off…."

The Englishman also sent a couple of tweets midway through the opening 45 minutes with Manchester City 3-0 up. One of them read:

"My phone is pinging right off… For all the wrong reasons ffs."

Ferdinand's final tweet on Sunday came after the game and he wrote:

"Absolutely dismantled… gulf between the 2 sides in Manchester! We showed some fight 2nd half or City took foot of the gas…. BTW [Erling] Haaland is treating these CB’s in the Premier League with no respect"

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Manchester City wreck Manchester United in lopsided derby

Manchester City pegged Manchester United back right from kick-off. They reaped the rewards of their fast start as Phil Foden opened the scoring after eight minutes, converting while unmarked in the box after a superb team move.

Erling Haaland joined the party in the 34th minute, powering home a header from Kevin De Bruyne's pinpoint corner. The duo combined once again for the former's second goal of the game three minutes later as he finished De Bruyne's cross at the far post.

The Belgian then found Haaland in space once again, this time on the left, in the 43rd minute and he set it back for Foden to finish at the other post to make it four. Manchester United had no answer to the trio, who were supported ably by their teammates, and trudged back to the dressing room at half-time.

Summer signing Antony got one back for the visitors with a splendid strike shortly after the break. However, City, despite taking their foot off, scored again through Haaland, who recorded his third hat-trick in eight Premier League matches. The Norwegian then set up Foden for his first treble in Sky Blue to make it 6-1.

Anthony Martial scored a late brace on his return from injury to leave Manchester United with some semblance of pride. However, this was undoubtedly a lopsided derby contest that was decided in the opening 43 minutes.