Roberto Mancini landed a decisive blow to the chin of Sir Alex Ferguson humbling Manchester United in the process and leaving their neighborhood rivals down on one knee clinging on to the ropes. Thoroughly beaten into submission Manchester City made a tremendous statement in the title race scoring six at Old Trafford. No one could have expected such a lop-sided defeat, right in Ferguson's backyard. The most interesting aspect was the manner in which City went about dismantling their hosts.
The result will live in infamy for all Red Devils supporters around the globe; not used to being on the wrong side of a heavy defeat. The chants of "easy" could be heard echoing around Old Trafford by City supporters, followed by the humorous "you’re getting sacked in the morning" taunting Ferguson as he sat silent on the bench. Shattered, dazed and shell-shocked the manager looked a beaten man.
Judging by the score line you would assume City was in control right from the start, however it was United that dictated the opening exchanges but never actually getting to test Joe Hart with a decent shot. Then like a flash Mario Balotelli put the visitors ahead, basically passing the ball into the far corner after a nice pull back from James Milner. This was followed by a funny celebration where the Italian exposed his under-shirt that read "Why Always Me" to everyone's amusement. It was the visitor’s one and only scoring chance and they made United to pay for their lack luster defending. Overall Mancini's tactics were holding the home side at bay and never allowing a clear cut chance to equalize as the first half ended.
You never can count United out of any match no matter what the score, they always have this extra gear and ability to pull it all together even when the odds are stacked heavily against them. But taking into consideration the poor performances by their back line which has looked extremely shaky and prone to mistakes they were fortunate not to have lost to Stoke City, Norwich City and Liverpool. Extremely lucky that neither of those clubs was able to put the match away after creating multiple chances to win. It seemed like only a matter of time before Ferguson's defensive problems would be exposed. It was surprising to see Phil Jones on the bench in favor of Jonny Evans: a decision that came back to haunt United.
I thought the Red Devils would come out in full force after the break, following the tongue lashing probably received in the dressing room by Ferguson, but they just dug a deeper hole to climb out of. Evans was shown the straight red card for pulling down Balotelli foolishly on the edge of the box; United were down to ten men. The central defender knew he was going to face his manager’s wrath following the match for the clumsy foul that was dangerously close to being a penalty.
Surely City could hang on to the lead being up a man with the entire second half still to play, surprisingly it was United who looked the better side following the sending off. Controversy soon followed when Anderson was brought down in the box by Micah Richards and no foul was called. After reviewing the challenge it looked as though the City defender got none of the ball but Mark Clattenburg decided against awarding a penalty. The call could have changed the match if given with City only a goal up at that point.
It quickly turned into a numbers game as play continued and United were unable to perform in the final third where it mattered most. Eventually growing tired and allowing the visitors to City exploit the spaces made available to nab their second of the match, with Balotelli left unmarked at the far post Milner's cross found the Italians boot for the second time in the match. Super Mario has been playing on another level since his return to the line-up collecting six goals in five matches this season making Carlos Tevez an afterthought.
City’s tactics were brilliant in picking apart their rivals, keeping them on edge every-time they ventured forward in attack. United were playing scared for the first time in a long while, their nerves started to show as the crowd grew incredibly silent. Sergio Aguero was next to score, finishing off Richards cross unmarked at the far post. It all looked ridiculously easy for the boys in sky blue. Embarrassed and at a loss for words many of the home support started walking towards the exits unable to watch their side’s poor performance any longer. Three goals up Mancini decided to take off Balotelli with twenty minutes to play with Edin Dzeko his replacement. The Italian did his manager proud and left the field to the applause of the travelling crowd of City supporters.
On eighty-one minutes Darren Fletcher pulled one back on a fine one-timer that completely went past the out-stretched arms of Hart as he dove in vain to make the save. Any hope that was generated by the Scotsman's goal was completely dashed eight minutes later when Dzeko scored the visitors fourth. Another two followed in quick succession, the fifth coming from David Silva neatly sliding the ball through the legs of David De Gea on the breakaway and the sixth was an easy tap in by Dzeko. United's defence clearly gave up and were playing for the whistle leaving De Gea completely stranded.
Mancini was all smiles on the sidelines celebrating like a cocky schoolboy as the flood gates opened and the goals started to stream in, while Ferguson was left red-faced in defeat. Later revealing it was the worst defeat suffered in his illustrious football career. The win will provide Manchester City with a major boost and sent a clear cut message to the entire league about their title ambitions, while United have been on a slow downward slope after starting the season on such a high. They were made to pay dearly for the multitude of mistakes at the back against an opponent that was able to capitalize on all the chances awarded to them.
The win at Old Trafford now places City firmly in the driver’s seat sitting atop the table with a five point cushion. Filled with confidence in knowing they beat their closest rivals with ease and now possess the mental advantage moving forward. The title was not won based on this one match, with not even ten games played you would be foolish to count United out of the title race this early. Ferguson will use this as a rallying call to wake up his players, never wanting to re-live the humiliation he suffered on Sunday.
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