Manchester Derby: United Win 2-0, Recapture First in League Table

In one of the biggest rivalries in English football, Manchester City took on Manchester United today at Old Trafford. 

This year's edition of the Manchester derby was key for United as rival Liverpool had just raised the stakes in the Premier League. Liverpool beat West Ham 3-0 Saturday to create a tie at the top with United, even though Sir Alex Ferguson's side had two games in hand.

The derby meant just as much to City, but for a different reason: Nothing would bring more joy than beating their arch rivals in a major title race.

As the game started, both teams played attacking football; despite chances for both sides, no shots found their way to net. Then, in the 17th minute, Dimitar Berbatov won a free kick for United about 30 yards away from the goal. Cristiano Ronaldo converted the shot to give United a 1-0 lead.

The game continued its fast pace, but in the 33rd minute, City midfielder Stephen Ireland was shown a yellow card for a rough tackle on Patrice Evra.

Several minutes later, toward the end of first-half stoppage time, United doubled their lead when Berbatov fed the ball to Carlos Tevez on a fast break. Tevez belted the ball into the bottom-right corner of the net.

After the goal, Tevez ran to the side of the pitch and heard chants of "Fergie, Keep Him!" Fans conveyed their wishes that Ferguson sign Tevez to a long contract for the next season. 

Before the game, Tevez told Sky Sports that he doesn't expect to be at Old Trafford next season after his two-year loan ends this season, mainly because the team hasn't offered him a legitimate contract to stay next season. He also said he would like to stay in England.

As the second half began, Darren Fletcher brought Ireland down onto the pitch, which led to another booking for Fletcher. He was red-carded on Tuesday at the Emirates Stadium in the Champions League semi-final.

Tomorrow, UEFA will decide if Fletcher will miss the Champions League final in Rome. Fletcher said he has accepted that he probably won't play in the final.

In the 50th minute, City had their best opportunity as Robinho beat the United defense and had a wide-open opportunity at Edwin Van de Sar. His shot missed the net, however, and City lost a chance at getting back into the game.

In the 59th minute, United replaced Cristiano Ronaldo with Paul Scholes, and in the 60th minute, Wayne Rooney replaced Park Ji-Sung. Ronaldo was surprised and angered as he went toward the team's dugout after the substitution. After the game, Ferguson said that he replaced Ronaldo to keep him fresh for the remaining big games this month.

In the 63rd minute, City replaced Felipe Caicedo with Valeri Bojinov following an injury to the Ecuadorian national.

In the 70th minute, Bojinov had another great chance to get City a goal, but Johnny Evans blocked the shot and got injured on the play. John O'Shea took Evans' place and used up United's final substitution.

Three minutes after that, City brought in Martin Petrov to replace Nigel de Jong in midfield.

After City's second substitution, United went back on the attack. They took several more shots at the City goal, but none of them found the back of the net.

In the 90th minute, Ched Evans came in for Robinho. It appeared that Robinho strained his groin during the game, and he will be re-evaluated Monday. 

Finally, after stoppage time, the Manchester Derby was decided, as Manchester United won this match 2-0, retook first place in the English Premier League, and has now beaten City both times they met this season.