Manchester City 1 Manchester United 0
Sergio Aguero’s 10th League goal of the season was enough for Manchester City to beat 10-man Manchester United and go to within three points of League leaders Chelsea. For the visitors it was a case of what might have been had Chris Smalling not been sent off as the Red Devils mustered a strong response in the second half. In the end, they finish the day in 10th spot, 13 points behind Chelsea and with a mountain to climb already.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
1. Aguero shows just why he is City’s main man
Although City started the game on the back foot, they slowly started to get at United and leading the charge was Sergio Agüero. The Argentinean striker scored four in his last home game in the League and was facing a far from first-choice defence. Right from the start it looked as though he was going to add to 4 derby goals and in the first half alone, he could have scored a hat-trick, if it weren’t for the efforts of David De Gea in the United goal. Not only was he constantly creating openings for himself, but was also causing a lot of bother for the visitors’ defence, who were struggling to get to grips with him.
Smalling’s red card and Marcos Rojo’s injury meant that United’s defence was severely depleted again and it looked as though it was only a matter of time, before the Argentinean striker scored. And Aguero did, on the 63rd minute, to give his side the lead that they richly deserved. But it was after that the striker’s importance to the side was so visible. Without him, the visitors’ defence played a much higher line and started taking chances. They pushed City back, who, without an out-ball or a clinical finisher, struggled to kill the game off and were in the end, lucky to escape with a win.