Man City vs. Man United: Score, Grades and Reaction from Manchester Derby

Sergio Aguero’s second-half strike was the difference as Manchester City beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday in a game they could, and perhaps should, have won by a bigger margin.

United were struggling to cope with City’s attacking intent at the Etihad Stadium even before Chris Smalling was dismissed for a second stupid challenge five minutes before half-time. Yet it took until the hour mark for City to finally break the deadlock, as Aguero showed all his quality and cutting edge to convert Gael Clichy’s low cross with a powerful first-time finish that would ultimately decide the points.

City had other chances to clinch the victory by a clearer margin; they were denied at least two strong penalty claims over the 90 minutes, while Jesus Navas also hit the post from close range. But they ended up enduring a nervy final 15 minutes of the contest, with Angel di Maria forcing a great save from Joe Hart and Marouane Fellaini mistiming a header from close range.

City held on, however, with Yaya Toure perhaps unlucky not to score with two dangerous efforts in the final throes of the contest.

"Today we proved we are a strong team," the Ivorian told Sky Sports afterwards. "We needed to bounce back after recent results, and we did very well."

The result ensures City remain third in the Premier League table on 20 points, six adrift of leaders Chelsea after 10 games of the campaign. United fall to ninth on goal difference, alongside the likes of Everton and Newcastle United on 13 points. However, manager Louis van Gaal might be more preoccupied with the injury picked up by defender Marcos Rojo, who was stretchered off in great pain after suffering an apparent shoulder injury in the second half of the match.

Manchester City were dealt an injury blow of their own when Aleksandar Kolarov went down during the warm-up. That saw Clichy drafted in at left-back, although other than that, Manuel Pellegrini’s plans were unaffected. The Chilean persisted with his preferred 4-4-2—with Aguero and Stevan Jovetic in attack—despite back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Newcastle in the last seven days.

Van Gaal opted to give his side an extra man in midfield, with Fellaini, Daley Blind and Di Maria offering the visitors a numerical advantage in a key area of the pitch. Wayne Rooney also returned to action following his recent suspension, playing in a deeper attacking role behind Van Persie.

Almost from the start, however, it was City that dominated proceedings, especially after Adnan Januzaj had volleyed wide an early snapshot from the edge of the box. Aguero in particular was a thorn in United’s side, twice dribbling clear of his marker to test David De Gea with shots from an acute angle.

The Spaniard was being kept busy by the home side, although Navas should perhaps not have even given his compatriot the opportunity to make a save when Aguero presented him with the ball just six yards out. The winger’s first-time shot was powerful but straight at De Gea, who palmed it away. Anywhere else in the goal, and he would have had little chance.

Moments later, De Gea was asked to play a part again, this time spreading himself at the feet of Aguero to deny the striker from finishing off Fernando’s sumptuous outside-of-the-foot cross.

United, bar the odd dangerous ball into the box, struggled to make a similar impact at the other end of the pitch. Indeed the most notable act in the City box came from Smalling, who was booked for stupidly standing in front of Joe Hart as the City goalkeeper tried to kick the ball upfield after a rare United corner.

That left the United defender on thin ice, and soon enough it would crack underneath him. It was another foolish challenge that saw the former Fulham defender dismissed. Smalling lunged in to challenge James Milner down the City left as the England midfielder got to the ball first and went down heavily.

"

Chris Smalling's Man United career in one vine. http://t.co/TgkcmQmILx

— Football Vines (@Vine_Football) November 2, 2014"

Smalling’s immediate reaction told the story, the defender seemingly instantly aware that he had made a fatal mistake. Michael Oliver duly produced a second yellow card to reduce United to 10 men.

Initially, the visitors attempted to absorb the loss, putting Fellaini in defence and reverting to a 4-4-1 setup. But within minutes, the Belgian was lucky to avoid giving away a penalty for a hasty challenge on Aguero, leading Van Gaal to withdraw Januzaj for Michael Carrick—perhaps hoping for a more composed presence at the heart of defence.

Nevertheless, there was to be one more scare for United before the break. This time it was Rojo who was lucky not to get his marching orders after a last-gasp challenge on Toure that seemed to get as much of the man as it did the ball. Oliver, however, seemed to have an obstructed view of the incident, blowing instead for half-time and giving United a chance to regroup.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Any plan Van Gaal may have come up with was thwarted soon after the restart. Rojo was withdrawn for teenager Paddy McNair after seemingly damaging his shoulder in a mistimed challenge on Martin Demichelis. Even before that, City had continued to threaten, however, with Navas and Jovetic squandering half-chances inside the United box.

Aguero was soon denied another strong penalty claim after going down in the box after a misjudged tackle from Carrick, but not long after he would finally get his just rewards for another sharp display. City again opened up the makeshift United backline, with Clichy being released down the left by Toure’s measured pass. The Frenchman’s cutback from the byline still left Aguero with a lot of work to do, but the Argentine’s technique was precise as his first-time finish cut across De Gea and into the net.

That lifted the atmosphere around the Etihad, with Pellegrini soon introducing both Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko in a bid to wrap up the contest as soon as possible. The Frenchman immediately made an impact, with only some last-ditch defending preventing Aguero from grabbing his second after incisive play from the substitute.

United, in stark contrast, seemed reduced to requiring moments of individual quality to try and find an equaliser, with Robin van Persie singlehandedly forcing his way into the City box and demanding a rare save from Hart from an unlikely angle. It was a rare bright spot for them in a United onslaught, however, as soon after Navas thundered a shot against De Gea’s post after leaving Luke Shaw for dead.

With 15 minutes remaining, United began to take more attacking risks, with greater rewards. Rooney—a predominantly defensive presence for much of the game—made a brilliant, surging run into the City box that opened up the game, before demanding a penalty after going down under pressure.

Rooney wanted a penalty, but the referee waved play on, with Di Maria eventually forcing one of the saves of the match from Hart.

Moments later, the Argentine would turn provider, as Fellaini made a mess of an inviting free-kick from barely six yards out. City would respond to this shift in the contest by withdrawing Aguero for Fernandinho, much to the striker’s evident disappointment.

United had also made a change, replacing Van Persie with James Wilson, but it was Di Maria who continued to be the driving force whenever United attempted to force an equaliser. They forced a few corners and drove a few balls into the box, but the best chances fell to City on the counter—Toure twice missing the target when presented with great chances to clinch the three points.

Considering the flow of the contest, City might wonder how they did not win this by a greater margin, although, considering recent results, Pellegrini appeared to be satisfied simply to get back to winning ways.

"They played well towards the end," City captain Vincent Kompany said afterwards. "We missed a couple of chances and then lost a little control of the game. But we stood strong; it’s a clean sheet and a good derby win."

Van Gaal will rightly be furious at Smalling for his twin moments of stupidity, but that dismissal, along with the loss of Rojo in the second half, played further havoc with a defensive system that has not been able to settle almost since he arrived at the club. The Dutchman may feel that once that luck changes, his side will be able to perform better in contests like this. 

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Player Ratings

Player	Rating
Joe Hart	7
Gael Clichy	7
Martin Demichelis	7
Vincent Kompany	7
Pablo Zabaleta	7
Fernando	8
Yaya Toure	8
James Milner	7
Jesus Navas	7
Stevan Jovetic	6
Sergio Aguero	8
Substitutions
Samir Nasri	7
Edin Dzeko	6
Fernandinho	6

Player	Rating
David de Gea	7
Luke Shaw	6
Marcos Rojo	5
Chris Smalling	4
Antonio Valencia	6
Daley Blind	7
Marouane Fellaini	6
Angel di Maria	8
Adnan Januzaj	6
Wayne Rooney	6
Robin van Persie	6
Substitutions
Michael Carrick	7
Paddy McNair	6
James Wilson	6

What's Next?

Manchester City's next big game comes on Wednesday, as they host CSKA Moscow at the Etihad—knowing they really must win to improve their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

United, not involved in European competition this season, must wait until next Saturday to host Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Quotes taken from Sky Sports' live broadcast of the match.