Manchester City triumphs Manchester United at Old Trafford

Manchester City triumphs Manchester United at Old Trafford

The rambling puzzle that has been Manchester City’s unconvincing Premier League title defence offered up even more questions after a performance worthy of champions at Old Trafford.

Flying in the face of the old logic that the table never lies, manager Roberto Mancini has never truly believed Manchester United were, at least at the start of Monday’s derby, 15 points better than City.

And, in Old Trafford’s normally unforgiving surroundings, City produced the hard evidence to support Mancini’s theory with an impressive display of power that will cause intense frustration once the afterglow of celebration has disappeared.

In inflicting United’s first league defeat in 18 games since they lost at Norwich City in November, Mancini’s reigning champions looked the fitter, more powerful and more threatening side. If there was a gap between the two teams, it was loaded in City’s favour at Old Trafford.

One team looked like champions at Old Trafford. And it was the champions.

And yet, taken over the course of the entire season, Sir Alex Ferguson’s United will fully deserve their 20th title. They may have been second best to City on Monday but they have been the best side in England since August – and nothing Mancini believes can change that.

When Ferguson reclaims the trophy and gives his traditional winners’ speech on the Old Trafford pitch, the usual rule will apply. The finest team has finished on top.

Sergio Aguero’s coolness under pressure and natural brilliance won City their first title in 44 years last May. More of the same merely delayed the inevitable with his late winner to give City a fully merited 2-1 win.

The “what might have beens” formed an orderly queue in front of City and their supporters as Vincent Kompany and the outstanding Matija Nastasic emphasised the current trough in form being suffered by Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney, while Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure controlled the midfield against Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick.

Aguero’s winner was the sort of goal prime time Rooney would specialise in, the angled run at pace away from a trail of defenders into the penalty area before the finish that was simply too powerful for United keeper David de Gea.

The pain for City will come with the acceptance that this sort of display has been an exception rather than the rule this season. They have been overcome by United’s consistency – and Ferguson’s determination to beat them into making Van Persie his game-changing signing last summer.

There have been too many lame afternoons like those at Southampton and Everton for City.

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Posted by Fahad Zafar on Apr 9 2013. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.