Manchester City beat Manchester United by 2-1 goals in a frenetic derby during Premier League title on Monday at Old Trafford. The stunning late goal of substitute Sergio Aguero greatly assisted his team to win over their rivals.
The Argentine striker penetrated through United's defense and arrowed the shot high into the net during the 78th minute, cutting second-place City's deficit to 12 points with seven rounds still remaining.
The result ended United's four and a half month unbeaten run in the league and will regain some home pride for the champions.
City manager Roberto Mancini sticking to the attitude he has adopted for the past three weeks asserted that they showed and they deserved to stay closer to the title but it is finished.
The balance of power remained in the red corner ofManchesterfor the time being. However, Mancini still feels his team put down a marker for next season.
City awarded United an uncomfortable defeat with its substitute in midfield thus controlling possession for long time. It was nothing compared to the 6-1 magnificentgoalsCitydelivered at the same stadium last season but this victory was just to be deserved.
City captain Vincent Kompany admitted that derby is always a special game for them and to be able to win is enormous. He believes that the way they finish this season will have an effect on how they perform in the next season. He added that this is a good win to have under their belt and they will take it into the next season.
Kompany scored the winner in last season's April meeting between the two rivals continuing City's last-gasp charge to a first title in 44 years. In contrast, it was his own goal here that looked to have denied his team victory.
The Belgium center back involuntarily shot in Phil Jones' bundled header from Robin van Persie's in-swinging free kick in the 58th minute, which cancelled out James Milner's 51st-minute opener for City that took a slight rebound off the knee of Jones.
Either team could have won it in an end-to-end final half hour, but it was Aguero who took the lead with a goal that had echoes of his title-winning shot in the final seconds of last season.
Ferguson analyzed in an upbeat assessment of his team mentioning that there were lots of plus signs. Their form was good and he has no complaints. He stressed that if one looks at the whole thing, it is not a bad day for them in context of the performance level. He assured that one does not want to lose a derby game but they are OK.
The alarm bells may not be ringing at this moment but Van Persie's goal drought expanded to 10 matches, Wayne Rooney was again far from his best and sometimes United's midfield was over-run. United have lost two games--at Chelsea in an FA Cup quarterfinal replay and the tragic defeat with Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16. However they have beaten relegation-threatened Readingand Sunderlandby 1-0. United may not be able to reach the title according to their scoring record. Ferguson admitted that if one looks at the history of this club, they themselves always make things difficult for them. He confirmed that the Manchester derby has become the biggest match inEngland and one of the world's most-watched events in recent years. The pace and intensity of the teams' play was scaring at times, especially during the first half. Ferguson, who had been expecting his 900th victory as United manager in all competitions, disclosed that it was easy to see why these were the best two teams in the country as the evidence was there tonight.
Manchester City had more composure. However, it needed a slice of fortune to open the scoring.
Carlos Tevez was positioned offside and seemed to be obstructing David De Gea's line of sight when Milner's redirected shot wrong-footed the United goalkeeper and snuggled him into the corner. That was the first goal United had conceded in the league within 678 minutes.
Kompany's intervention led the City team but thanks to Aguero’s efforts who started on the bench after recovering from his recent injuries. Aguero was introduced as the 71st-minute substitute against ineffective Samir Nasri. The nippy striker accepted Yaya Toure's short pass before resorting on a mazy dribble that ended with a relentless finish inside De Gea's nearest post.
The man-of-the-match Milner claimed that they wanted to come here and put in a performance and he thinks that they have done it.
