No one really knew what to expect at the start of this one. With City on a poor run of form and the huge rebuilding going on at Manchester United, it was a really tough one to call. A win here for either side would give them a great boost of confidence. City have a vital upcoming Champions League fixture in mid-week, and will want to go into that on the back of a win to give the players belief they can make it out of the group stage. On the other hand, United have not won a Premier league game away from home since April, so many will feel the away day blues need be to got rid of. A win for United today would take them to within a point of their Mancunian rivals, so it was all to play for.
The game started, as many expected, as a rather feisty affair. Inside the opening twenty minutes there were many free kicks and players tumbling all over the shop. City had the early chances, but twice De Gea made excellent saves to deny Aguero. United could have easily been 2-0 down were it not for the Spaniards heroics between the sticks. The pressure continued to mount on United during the first half, with their defence being given no relief due to lacklustre forward play from Di Maria and the like. Eventually, the pressure payed off but not in the form of a goal.
Some neat play down the wing from James Milner forced Smalling into a clumsy challenge, which earned him his second yellow card of the game. United were down to ten men and had to re-establish a stable back four, Januzaj was subbed off for Carrick who slotted in at centre half. After this, City then had two penalty shouts but controversially, neither were given. In fairness to the referee, he did not have a good view of either incident, but if he had, City would have had two penalties, and United would be down to nine men. It was now expected that the second half would be backs to the wall for United, and all out attack for City.
And as predicted, the second half started brightly. City came out showing fierce attacking intent, with even Demichelis venturing forward. The game was played exactly how a derby should be played, plenty of passion and desire to win the game. The crowd were fully involved as well appealing for everything and spurring on their respective teams. It made for excellent entertainment, but unfortunately for United, it seemed only a matter of time before City made the breakthrough, and Aguero did. A fine finish from the Argentine to make the it an even steeper task for United to deal with. Furthermore, City had numerous chances to seal the victory but somehow failed to take them.
Some quality defending from Luke Shaw, who was probably United's man of the match, ensured the deficit was just one goal. While it was only one, there was always a chance United could equalise from a set piece or a counter attack, and came closest through Fellaini, who headed just wide of the post when maybe he should have done better. Despite five minutes of added time, City saw it through, and edge ever closer to Chelsea who they are just six points behind now.
Despite not putting more past United, Pellegrini will be satisfied with the three points. On another day, penalty decisions may have gone their way, and they were only denied more than one goal, due to an inform David De Gea. As for Van Gaal, he will be frustrated with Smalling about the sending off, but can have no complaints about the decision from Michael Oliver. A good day for City who will now turn their attention to the Champions League, in what I am sure will be a tense encounter with CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night, but they may even manage to progress. Manchester United can take many positives from the game and in fact, were unlucky not to grab a point. They certainly look a far better team than they did a few weeks ago, so all in all, the future looks bright for the two Manchester giants.
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