Sir Alex Ferguson Wins Another City Of Manchester Derby

Earlier today we witnessed one of the most anticipated Manchester Utd-Manchester City matches in many years. Roberto Mancini was certainly convinced that his squad could leave Old Trafford with at least one point. 

Sir Alex Ferguson switched up his starting lineup and gave the start to John O'Shea over Rafael. That may have come as a surprise to most, but he was looking to gain a bigger body and more height at the back. Berbatov was also left out of the starting XI as Ferguson opted to play with Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson in the middle of the park. Ryan Giggs and Nani were Manchester Utd's threats on the wings.

With Chris Smalling making his starting XI debut, there was a lot of pressure on him in such a high-profile match. After the referee A. Marriner blew for full time, it was more than clear that Smalling was not bothered one bit by the pressure. 

The match started out very even with both sides sharing the possession, although Manchester City looked more comfortable on the ball in the beginning. In a well-played combination of passes within the first minutes, David Silva saw himself through on goal and was not able to put the ball into the net.

Manchester Utd began to gain some composure and was seeing more of the ball in Manchester City's half of the field, but neither team was really threatening the goal. It was now Manchester Utd's chance on goal with a well-measured cross by Ryan Giggs that met Fletchers' head, but the header was straight to Joe Hart.

Manchester City's midfield may have been winning the battle, but they were not able to threaten the goal of Van Der Sar. The breakthrough came in the 41st minute when a long ball played to Rooney, landed so kindly for Giggs who played Nani into space and he put the home team up 1-0. The two important pieces of this play were the magnificent vision of Ryan Giggs and Nani's first touch put him straight through on goal.

At halftime Sir Alex Ferguson's squad deservedly lead a Manchester City team who appeared to be very reluctant in going forward with the fear of getting hit on the attack.

The second half began very much like the first, with both teams switching periods of possession, but most of the game being played in the midfield with very few chances on goal.

In the 52nd minute, Mancini opted to make an offensive substitution by bringing on Wright Phillips for the very quiet Kolarov. Mancini may have eliminated Kolarov from the game himself by placing him at a left midfield position instead of his natural left back. One could argue he would have been better off dropping Kolarov to left back and taking off Zabaleta.

Edin Dzeko made his appearance just nine minutes later, taking off James Milner, who had picked up a hamstring injury. Dzeko would not only bring more of a threat but he would also now be able to give some support to Carlos Tevez, who was very much stranded all game by himself.

In the 65th minute Dzeko made his presence felt with a somewhat fortunate goal. The ball was crossed into the box and Dzeko took a shot that bounced off of David Silva and landed in the back of the net. That goal brought an uplifting to City fans and players. The goal would later be awarded to David Silva and not Dzeko.

Sir Alex Ferguson did not wait too long and brought on the Premier League's leading scorer, Dimitar Berbatov. The game was now very open and there was much more space in the midfield for both teams. Mancini was making it clear that he wanted to go for the three points and not sit and hold the draw.

In the 78th minute Manchester United fans got a glimpse of the Wayne Rooney of last season. Nani floated a cross into the box that found a confident Rooney. He did not even think twice as he leaped up and launched a stellar acrobatic kick into the back of Joe Hart's net. City's players could do nothing but watch Rooney celebrate in amazement as to what they had just witnessed. Goals like that are not only rare, but they are moments of complete inspiration and adrenaline rush.

Mancini would once again be beaten by the Scottish football mastermind, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Man of the match: Nemanja Vidic

 He knew going into this match that lining up alongside Chris Smalling, he was going to have to transmit confidence into his defense, as he has done very well all season. He had to make sure that he was available to shut down any sort of threat to make sure Smalling felt comfortable. He surely did an outstanding job at that.

He puts every ounce of effort he has into every single play. Regardless of leading by one or by two, he is always ready to sacrifice his body for any shot on Van Der Sar's goal. Not only did he have a great game, but his outstanding display allowed Chris Smalling to step up and play well also.

Flop of the match: Kolarov

 Mancini started him at a left midfield position with Zabaleta at left back behind him. The apparent reason was to try and void Nani's influence on that right side. That plan clearly didn’t work as Nani was very much active. Mancini's tactics may very well have eliminated his player from the game. He was rarely seen on the ball and he wasn’t very influential in shutting down Nani. Mancini may have been better off starting Kolarov at the left back position and leaving Zabaleta at the left mid spot.

Key moment of the game: Wayne Rooney's goal

Not only was Rooney's goal pivotal in the match, but he gave Manchester Utd fans a bit of hope. Rooney has been suffering from injury setbacks all season and in the past few games, he has been showing bits and pieces of what he was last year. He may not have been very influential in the whole game as we are used to seeing, but Rooney is very good at being the right place at the right time. Not only that, but he is very good at taking advantage of his opportunities on goal. United fans have hope now that Rooney will be able to step up and help United down the key stretch of the season.