Man City won completely deservedly.
Wayne Rooney scored again in a derby, but before the only goal of the match for Man Utd, Man City had a comfortable position and earned 4 goals thanks to a double from Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri.
The result of a match does not say everything, but it can more or less reflect the inadequacies in the playing style as well as the difference in personality of Man Utd before and after the Ferguson reign.
David Moyes – who has never won a Liverpool derby during his 11 years leading Everton – is slow to make timely adjustments to the situation.
Robin van Persie – Man Utd’s top scorer last season – could not participate due to a sudden injury right before the match.
Manuel Pellegrini (right) enjoys victory in his first Manchester derby.
In the midfield, rookie £27.5 million Marouane Fellaini is too pale compared to the home team’s durable and comprehensive Toure in both offense and defense.
Another big difference lies in defense.
It was from Man Utd’s right wing that Aleksandar Kolarov found space to send a pass inside for Aguero to score the opening goal in the 16th minute. The initiative from then on belonged to Man City, forcing the away team to defend.
Rooney, despite his fire, was not enough to make a difference, even when he struggled until his helmet came off or received a yellow card for fouling midfielder Kompany.
In such a context, Man City did not have much difficulty finding a goal to double the gap in first half stoppage time.
Most of Man Utd’s players initially played below their strength yesterday.
During the break, Moyes probably said a lot to cheer up his students.
Just three minutes later, minute 50, Man Utd’s net bounced up for the fourth time.
After being `full`, Man City gradually cooled down.
However, after Fellaini’s dangerous shot made goalkeeper Joe Hart show his talent or Evra’s header bounced the ball off the post, Man Utd had to rely on Rooney’s free kick in the 87th minute to shorten the goal.
That was the goal that turned Rooney into the number one scorer in Manchester derby history (11 goals), but he could not express his joy.
Squad
Man City: Hart 7 (rated 7 out of 10), Zabaleta 7, Kompany 7, Nastasic 7, Kolarov 7, Jesus Navas 8 (Milner 71′, 6), Toure 8, Fernandinho 8, Nasri 9, Aguero 8
Goals: Aguero 16′, Toure 45′, Aguero 47′, Nasri 50′.
Man Utd: De Gea 5, Smalling 6, Ferdinand 6, Vidic 5, Evra 6, Carrick 6, Fellaini 5, Valencia 5, Rooney 6, Young 5 (Cleverley 51′, 6), Welbeck 6.
Goal: Rooney 87′
