Manchester United 2 – 0 Manchester City – Review

A fully professional and efficient performance from Man United enabled them to record a thoroughly deserved victory over a disappointing Man City side in the 151st derby between these sides. In truth, the Blues were distinctly average and although they had long periods of possession, there was a notable lack of penetration from their attack. United never needed to perform anywhere near their brilliant best, but first-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, via a deflection off City’s Nigel de Jong, and Carlos Tévez decided a decidedly lacklustre contest.

The Reds, courtesy of this win, remain three points ahead of closest challengers Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, and with a game in hand, due to be played on Wednesday against Wigan, require just four more points to retain the title. The result now leaves City outsiders to claim seventh place which would entitle them to the Europa League next season, and the Blues now trail Fulham, currently occupying seventh, by three points.

Passionate City fan and boxer Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton was at Old Trafford, sitting next to Rio Ferdinand

Team News

Blues boss Mark Hughes opted to name the same side that had defeated Everton and Blackburn in City’s previous two Premier League matches. Unfortunately for the Citizens, influential midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips failed to recover in time from his injury, but Argentinean defender Pablo Zabaleta was deemed fit enough to be named on the bench. With Craig Bellamy, Benjani Mrawurawi and Danny Sturridge all out injured, along with Valeri Bojinov’s lack of match fitness, Felipe “The Battering Ram” Caicedo was handed another opportunity up-front on his own.

Sir Alex Ferguson made a total of five changes from the side that overcame Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final in midweek, with Wayne “He’s Fat, He’s Scouse, He’ll Probably Rob Your House” Rooney being a notable omission. Carlos Tévez, who had spoken out at United earlier in the day for refusing to offer him a new contract, was partnered up-front by Dimitar Berbatov, while Paul Scholes surprisingly started on the bench. 

City Line-Up (4-2-3-1)

                                                    Given

Richards                     Dunne                        Onuoha                           Bridge

                                  de Jong                      Kompany

Elano                                          Ireland                                             Robinho

                                                  Caicedo

Subs: Hart, Zabaleta, BERTI, Fernandes, Petrov, Evans, Bojinov

Mark Hughes applauds the City fans before kick-off

Report

A cacophony of sound, mainly originating from the City section, reverberated around Old Trafford as both sets of players walked out onto the pitch. The passion from the crowd was clear to see, but it seemed that for the players, this was just another match and not the special occasion of a derby. The tempo at the start was soporific, and for those like myself, forced to listen to the monotonous tones of Alan Green on the radio, life was not worth living.

Chances were at a premium, but City were more than holding their own whilst in the meantime, dominating possession. Best friends Carlos Tévez and Ji-Sung Park both tested Shay Given early on, but it was nothing too serious for the Blues recent acquisition. Brazilian Elano, voted on here as player of the month for April, had City’s first chance, but he shot wide from a decent position.

Everyone’s favourite player to hate, Cristiano Ronaldo, saw his free-kick, awarded by referee Chris Foy for a challenge by Richard Dunne, blocked by the wall, but that effort was merely practice for the Portuguese winger, who proceeded to put the home side ahead in the eighteenth minute. Stephen Ireland was adjudged to have fouled Berbatov, a decision which Mark Hughes questioned afterwards, and Ronaldo’s free-kick took a slight deflection off Nigel de Jong, thus wrong-footing Given, before creeping in the bottom corner to give United the lead.

 
Ireland appears to foul Berbatov which is followed by Ronaldo’s successful attempt 

The Premier League’s most expensive player, Robinho, wasted a glorious chance for the visitors just before the half-hour mark when he dragged his shot wide followng some good build-up by the otherwise non-existent Felipe Caicedo. Carlos Tévez then went up the other end and displayed his undoubted quality, when his 25 yard effort left Given clutching at thin air as the ball slammed against the post.

Just as the first period was drawing to a close, United doubled their advantage, thus killing off the game as a contest. A long ball up-field from Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher, still feeling aggrieved at missing out on the Champions League final, was controlled superbly by Berbatov on the stretch and he laid it backwards towards Tévez. The Argentinean took a couple of touches before making half a yard ahead of Richard Dunne and the striker then proceeded to power home a shot, with the ball coming off the inside of the post. Tévez celebrated by running towards the executive boxes and towards David Gill in protest at not being offered a new contract.

 
Tévez powers home before celebrating with the crowd

Feeling comfortable with their two goal advantage, United now took their foot off the accelerator but the Blues were still finding it nigh-on impossible to break down the rearguard of the league leaders. A frisson of excitement was delivered with Robinho’s shot following Elano’s inch-perfect pass, but the attempted lob drifted harmlessly wide.

A spate of substitutions – five within just fifteen minutes – gave the encounter a stop-start feel, but the atmosphere was lifted by a typical display of petulance by Ronaldo when he was replaced by Wayne “There Is No Way That He Should Be A Father” Rooney. The Portuguese international, a fierce rival of Tom Daley when it comes to execution of dives, was less than enamoured with being brought off and he let his manager and the whole world know his feelings as he stormed off snatching his jacket in a temper, before leaving the ground only fifteen minutes after the match had finished.

City threatened briefly through Martin Petrov’s shot, but Edwin Van Der Sar tipped the curling effort round the post. The last chance of the match fell to star performer Tévez, but he failed to make any contact with Darren Fletcher’s header which bounced against the post. Referee Chris Foy blew his whistle to bring the contest to a close, and United recorded yet another double over their rivals.

 
Ronaldo is unimpressed with his manager, whilst for the Blues, Robinho had yet another rubbish match

Key Battles

Edwin Van der Sar ‘v’ Shay Given

An interesting battle these two veterans of the game. Given was by far the busier ‘keeper, but was still only forced into making five saves. City only tested Van Der Sar twice, as they lacked the penetration needed against top sides like United. The Irish international nearly saved Ronaldo’s free-kick for the first goal, but was left helpless for Tévez’s strike. Overall, this contest is a Draw.

Ryan Giggs ‘v’ Nigel de Jong

The Premier League’s player of the year was restored to the starting line-up after being omitted against Arsenal and the wily Giggs certainly added experience to the heart of United’s midfield. De Jong got stuck into his fair share of tackles, making a couple of thumping challenges of Darren Fletcher, but he was let down by the rest of his teammates. This contest is also a Draw.

Carlos Tévez or Dimitar Berbatov ‘v’ Richard Dunne

Both of these United strikers started but the greater contribution was clearly given by the Argentinean who, with his willingness to run the channels and his non-stop energy, caused the City defence a plethora of problems. Richard Dunne and Nedum Onuoha were arguably City’s two best performers, and they dealt with Berbatov well, but Tévez just seemed to have too much quality for them, so the winner of this key battle is Tévez.

Robinho prays to the giant Van Der Sar to let him score, but the ‘keeper ignored him

Summary

As deflating as this defeat is, it’s not the end of the road for City’s European hopes. With just two games remaining, the Blues have their backs against their walls, but victories in these matches, away to Tottenham and at home to Bolton, could see City climb above Fulham in the quest for seventh place. Back to this match, and it was crystal clear to see that the Citizens missed SWP and Craig Bellamy, as well as a fit Martin Petrov, as they had no pace on their side. Felipe Caicedo had about as much impact as a stripper in a monastery, but Mark Hughes is already fully aware of the need to sign a new striker. It is this type of match that Robinho should perform in, but yet again, the Brazilian was anonymous. The manager must restore confidence in the squad before the next match, but Blues supporters should not be too disheartened by this result. As much as it pains me to say it, United are a class outfit, and they highlighted the gap which City are aiming to bridge in the near future.