Manuel Pellegrini: Win Is 'Very Big' Psychological Blow to United

MANCHESTER, England — Manuel Pellegrini feels his Manchester City side have inflicted a “very big” psychological blow on Manchester United after a resounding 4-1 victory in the Manchester derby.



City completely outplayed their rivals Sunday and were 4-0 up after just 50 minutes, with Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany the standout performers at the Etihad.

Toure completely dominated the midfield battle, with United’s Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini left chasing shadows for much of the match. His pace and power caused United problems all afternoon, and Toure deservedly got himself on the scoresheet to make it 2-0 with a tap in on the stroke of half-time.

Aguero had given City the lead with a brilliant volley on 16 minutes, before adding another early in the second half. His pace and willingness to run at defenders was City’s best attacking threat, and his goals capped a fine performance.

City were also far more assured at the back thanks to Kompany’s return. It was the Belgian’s first league appearance since the injury he sustained against Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season, and City look much stronger defensively with him in the team.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Pellegrini said he was surprised at how easy it was for his side given the quality of the opposition.



“It was a very important result. Normally you don’t expect to win 4-1 against Manchester United but the most important thing was the way we played—I am very happy.



“Normally derbies are more equal but today we had a very good day and that allowed us to have superiority against Manchester United this afternoon. Winning the way we won today will give us a lot of confidence.



“Always winning against Manchester United and the way we won could have an important impact.”



After poor performances against Cardiff, Hull and Stoke, City have had a good week, having also defeated Plzen in the Champions League on Tuesday. With David Silva, Micah Richards and Gael Clichy fit again, they look well capable of putting a run of good results together, but Pellegrini believes his side must continue to improve.

“I would be very happy if we win all of the games 4-1 but we must improve every game,” he said. "Not every game is the same, we are just starting in another way to play and I hope we will improve every day."

It's clear that Pellegrini's vision of how City should play is beginning to be realised on the pitch. He expects a high-tempo, pressing game with a focus on attacking football, and his players look to be responding.



Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity