Watch | Erling Haaland's astonishing derby blunder leaves Manchester City fans stunned, United lead intact

It is proven that Erling Haaland is human after all. Manchester City's star striker missed a golden opportunity to equalise in Sunday's derby against United just before halftime. A wonder strike by Marcus Rashford from outside the box gave Manchester United a lead just 8 minutes into the match and Haaland could have brought parity, if not for an astonishing miss in the 45th minute. The Norwegian's miss meant City ended the half trailing 1-0 at the Etihad.

This is what happened.  Winger Jeremy Doku passed one just outsdie the box for Rodri, who moved cleverly to clip it towards the back post where Phil Foden was waiting. The England international jumped high to deliver a header pass to Haaland. With Andre Onana off his lines, the winger put it on a plate for Haaland, who somehow hooked the ball over from point-blank range.

All he had to do was direct the ball into the net with some part of the body. Instead, he went for a left-footed tap-in and ended up wasting the chance. "All of the Etihad was ready to celebrate but, somehow, the Norway talisman misses when it was easier to score with the simplest of volleyed finishes," Google-generated commentary summarised the miss.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

Manchester City fired as many as 18 shots in the first 45 minutes but Onana and the defensive four stood strong to keep the Red Devils's lead intact. Pep's team also got 12 corner kicks before the break against United's tally of 2.

If second-placed Manchester City go past their rivals, they will manage to restore the gap with leaders Liverpool to one point. What awaits Pep's men then is a seismic meeting at Anfield on March 10. United are next up against 16th-placed Everton at home on March 9.