The eventless Manchester Derby
Reality debunked hype as the eventless Manchester United Vs Manchester City match, played at Eastland on the 11th
of November floundered.
The closest the match got to an outbreak was a Carlos Tevez free kick and Dimitar Berbatov header. Both chances failed to break the deadlock.
As the whistle urged the match to start, City players started to gain momentum as each player got familiar with the ball rather early. As the ball moved to Carlos Tevez he went past Nemanja Vidic and opened up Man United’s defence, but the Argentinean striker
was indecisive and the chance flitted.
Manchester United caught up with City in the 15th minute as Nani delivered a shot from 30-yards which was tamed by Joe Hart. Another effort was a nice one-two by Patrice Evra and Ji Sung Park near the City penalty area but resulted in a low shoot
by Evra which was collected by Hart. Both teams remained head to head in the first half-hour. City garnered three corners which proved to be of no threat to the Reds.
The failed break through took place later as Tevez was fouled by Paul Scholes near Man United’s area. Tevez produced a brilliant curler which was heading for the top corner until it was denied its grand finish by Van der Sar. The 40-year-old Van der Sar
stretched across the goal and put a halt to the mighty curler, thus ending the most dominant strike by Man City. By now tempers had started to build. Paul Scholes earned a booking at the hands of Chris Foy, the match referee.
A little while later Yaya Toure made a respectable run, only to be interrupted by Vidic, which was awarded with a free kick. David Silva put the free kick to no good use, past all who were anticipating it. This turned out to be the ending note of the first
half.
The second half failed to differ itself from the earlier half of the game. The game concentrated in the middle, with no creativity being crafted. The defenders continued to dominate and each attack was defended remarkably. City only scrambled a rare set-piece.
United’s best strike came just before the 60th minute when Brown unleashed a cross from the right and Dimitar Berbatov had a go at it only managing a header straight into Hart. City’s coach Roberto Mancini made an attempt to renew the zest by
bringing in Adam Johnson in place of silent James Milner. The substitution took place 20 minutes before the game reached its destined end. The substitute had a shot at the goal right away but over-hit it. This was the last bit of excitement in the match as
it drew to its anti-climatic end. Both sides settled for one point each. The Derby rarely managed to excite.
It is for certain however that Man City, now being owned by the Abu-Dhabi group of companies, has plenty of funds at their disposal. They can finally compete with Manchester United. However Sir Alex Ferguson still mocks City and fails to acknowledge City
as a serious threat. One thing is for certain though; Man City is gradually knitting an impressive squad. Deny it as he may Ferguson should be keen to watch out.
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