Manchester City put a huge dent into Manchester United’s hopes of successfully defending their Premier League title with a crushing 4-1 win on Sunday.
It was only their third win against their bitter rivals in United manager Alex Ferguson’s 17 year tenure.
The result left United third, a huge 12 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, and facing the prospect of ending the season without a trophy (they face the Gunners in an FA Cup semi-final) after their midweek Champions League exit against Porto for the second time in three years.
For City, who sported black armbands in tribute to the victims of the train bomb attacks in Madrid whereas United did not, victory left them six points clear of the relegation zone.
Goals from Robbie Fowler and former United trainee Jon Macken — his first in the Premiership — put the hosts 2-0 up soon after the half hour mark in the first derby match at the City of Manchester Stadium since City left Maine Road last season.
United’s England midfielder Paul Scholes pulled one back in the 35th minute before second-half strikes from lifelong City fan Trevor Sinclair and Shaun Wright-Phillips’s wonder goal in the dying seconds sealed victory for Kevin Keegan’s team.
”It was a disappointing second half,” said Ferguson afterwards.
”We’ve given away two goals from a long throw in and a free kick. Our forward play was very good, but in the second half City were the far better side,” added the Scot, who earlier this week revealed he had been fitted with a pacemaker.
The Scot admitted it would be ”very difficult” to overhaul Arsenal’s lead with just 10 games left but said: ”The most important thing is to get our form back.”
City were gifted their decisive third goal following a mistake by United centre-back Mikael Silvestre which left Ferguson fuming.
”We’ve got to erdicate these silly errors. It was a terrible result. There’s no masking that,” admitted Ferguson.
Meanwhile City boss Kevin Keegan was understandably elated after outwitting his nemesis in Ferguson, who once overhauled a huge Newcastle lead in the Premiership when Keegan was their manager to take the title.
”I was really proud of them (the team). We played better against Chelsea last week and didn’t get a result,” said Keegan.
”All over the field we had players who, though, they will have better days they won’t have a better attitude,” the former England coach added.
Silvestre had returned to the United defence ahead of schedule after recovering from a knee liagment injury.
United though were without club captain Roy Keane, striker Louis Saha and suspended England full-back Gary Neville, still serving the ban he collected after headbutting Steve McManaman in last month’s 4-2 FA Cup win over City at Old Trafford.
The game had barely settled down before City went ahead in the third minute.
Antoine Sibierski nodded on Richard Dunne’s throw. Fowler beat Phil Neville to the ball, took one touch and then the striker flicked the ball past United goalkeeper Tim Howard.
United almost levelled soon afterwards when Cristiano Ronaldo, following up after City keeper David James failed to hold Scholes’s shot, saw his strike hit the post.
The visitors had the lion’s share of possession but it was City who scored next.
Appeals for handball after Scholes blocked Claudio Reyna’s low centre into the box were ignored and the loose ball broke to Macken who shot through Silvestre’s legs.
Minutes later United were on the scoresheet. Ronaldo won posession and released Ryan Giggs. His pullback across the face of goal found the onrushing Scholes whose finish left James helpless.
And six minutes before the break United almost made it 2-2 when Portuguese star Ronaldo’s curling shot came back off the crossbar with James beaten.
But in the 73rd minute City were gifted a two-goal lead when Silvestre, trying to lay the ball off to fellow central defender Wes Brown, failed to make full contact and instead played it into the path of England midfielder Sinclair who chipped the ball over Howard.
Wright-Phillips then wrapped the game up in spectacular style late on. After the ball had rolled along the right touchline, he advanced to the right corner of the penalty area and then let fly with a rising shot that went in off the underside of the bar. – Sapa-AFP