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Man City 4-1 Man United
Hello, and welcome to today’s liveblog of City-United. Here are the teams:
Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Toure, Nasri, Navas, Aguero, Negredo. Subs: Pantilimon, Lescott, Richards, Garcia, Milner, Jovetic, Dzeko
Man Utd: De Gea, Evra, Ferdinand, Rooney, Smalling, Vidic, Carrick, Young, Welbeck, Valencia, Fellaini. Subs: Amos, Evans, Hernandez, Nani, Cleverley, Kagawa, Buttner
We’re underway, and Vincent Kompany is almost punished straight away.
He dwells on the ball too long, as Welbeck takes it off him, but he recovers well to prevent the young striker getting a shot away.
And in case you haven’t noticed, Van Persie has not made the United squad.
He has a groin strain, according to David Moyes.
Meanwhile, Vidic is a little too casual in trying to pass the ball out of defence. Navas intercepts, but gets overly excited, and blasts the ball well over.
It’s been a decent start for City, save that one Welbeck half chance.
They’ve dominated both in terms of possession and territory, but have yet to carve out a real clear-cut opening.
Aguero plays through Kolarov, and his dangerous cross is well headed away by Vidic.
City are the side who look more purposeful at the moment.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
A good run down the left by Nasri, who then releases Kolarov. His cross finds Aguero, who volleys home exquisitely (16 mins).
David Moyes won’t be happy with Valencia, who rather lazily let Kolarov run in the build-up.
Nasri almost makes it 2-0, as the ball falls to him on the edge of the area, and he blasts it narrowly over.
City are well on top at the moment, and United haven’t really started. Perhaps their confidence is low on account of that Van Persie injury blow.
Shouts for a penalty as Kolarov, who has been one of City’s main attacking outlets so far, goes down rather flimsily after being blocked by Smalling.
Probably the right call from the referee, although I’ve seen them given.
City are passing it around confidently, as they continue to dominate this game.
However, as I type, Valencia nutmegs Kolarov down the United right, but then his touch is too heavy, allowing the defender to recover.
United have been toothless in attack so far.
More very patient build-up play from City without really showing the necessary level of incision.
United, by contrast, are struggling to keep the ball.
It’s games like this where David Moyes’ side miss Paul Scholes.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Nastasic rises the highest as a corner is floated in, and Yaya Toure connects to tap it in on the line.
City lead 2-0, and it’s hard to argue it’s not deserved.
HALF-TIME: MAN CITY 2-0 MAN UNITED
By the way, it’s 0-0 in today’s other Premier League game between Tottenham and Cardiff.
The second half is underway…
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Nasri plays a clever through ball to Negredo, whose cross finds Aguero for his second (47 mins).
City are on fire, while United appear completely out of sorts. Moyes’ side have looked lacklustre throughout this game.
GOAL FOR MAN CITY!
Ashley Young concedes possession and City break with speed.
Navas charges down the right, and his cross finds Nasri, who volleys it home with aplomb (50 mins).
United just can’t deal with City’s intensity at the moment.
Negredo almost makes it five, but Vidic makes a last-ditch interception from Navas’ perfectly weighted cross.
City have been a big threat down both flanks today.
Twitter is not impressed with United today.
It’s been a pretty tame response from United, who are now adopting a 4-5-1 formation.
It’s undoubtedly a case of damage limitation at this stage.
Some consolation for United fans perhaps…
Fellaini’s powerful strike forces Hart to tip the ball over the bar.
United show some bite at last.
Dzeko has replaced Negredo, and Milner previously came on for Navas.
The game has hit a lull, with substitutions on both side, while the fact that it’s effectively over doesn’t help either.
Dodgy moment for David De Gea.
Dzeko makes a powerful run forward before unleashing a weak show. However, the United player drops the shot, almost allowing the ball to creep into the net in the process.
Evra somehow beats Kompany to header at a corner.
However, typically, given how badly the day has gone for United, the Frenchman’s effort comes back off the post and the ball is eventually cleared.
It’s still Cardiff 0-0 Spurs in the other game by the way.
Two-goal hero Sergio Aguero comes off to rapturous applause.
GOAL FOR MAN UNITED!
As good as City have been, that might just be the goal of the match from Wayne Rooney.
He curls a free-kick beyond Joe Hart into the top corner.
Though it’s not saying much, Rooney has probably been United’s best player, and certainly their biggest threat, today.
FULL-TIME: MAN CITY 4-1 MAN UNITED
So Man City comfortably overcome United.
They dominated possession and territory for much of the match, with United failing to cope with their intensity and in particular, their wing play.
And the scoreline does not flatter City in anyway — it’s a fair reflection on how superior they were.
Consolations for United? Rooney tried his heart out and they’re often slow starters, but aside from those, there aren’t many.
Tottenham have scored what must be a winner in the 95th minute against Cardiff through Paulinho…
Right, that’s all from me. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Until next time…
