Man Utd 1 – 6 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS

Insane. Absolutely insane. It defies proper description. Sides rarely get a point at Old Trafford, let alone a win, but Manchester City didn’t just record a win at Old Trafford. It was a humiliation. And one that will live long in the memory.

When the quite brilliant Mario Balotelli opened the scoring, I was ecstatic. I would have taken a point before the game, but there we were, leading our bitter rivals and looking comfortable. Then Balotelli scored again and the victory seemed possible. Then Aguero scored and it seemed probable. But I was still worried. Then Fletcher scored for United and the nerves were starting to kick in. But then Dzeko scored to seal the win. And then Silva to cap it off. And then Dzeko again. It was unreal.

It was unreal then and still feels unreal now. But with the quality we possess, we can feasibly expect this to become the norm. Not necessarily a humiliation every time, but victory. We’re now top of the Premier League by five points and although it’s far too early to be counting our chicken hats just yet, the confidence and belief gained from yesterday cannot be overstated.

As it happens, I believe that Sergio Aguero’s 94th minute goal against Villarreal in midweek was absolutely key in the build up to this game. Had we only secured a draw on Tuesday, there would have been plenty of negative vibes heading into this one. Aguero’s tap in meant that we had some much needed momentum and after a shaky opening twenty minutes or so, we controlled the game.

Balotelli’s first goal was exquisite and a sign of his ridiculous ability. Caressing the ball into the corner with such nonchalance, he put United on the back foot and they never really recovered. The sending off of Jonny Evans early in the second half undoubtedly made life easier for us, but the home side had shown no character or fight to recover from Balotelli’s goal even with eleven men on the pitch.

With David Silva running the game, James Milner popping up everywhere, Sergio Aguero and Balotelli linking up as if they had playing together for years, and Micah Richards and Gael Clichy nullifying United’s wide threat, we dominated the play and it was no surprise to see our maverick Italian striker double our advantage. Aguero added a third to send us into dreamland before Dzeko, twice, and Silva completed the rout. And it was very much a rout.

Special praise should, of course, be given to Roberto Mancini. His tactics were absolutely spot on, enabling City to outnumber, and therefore control, the midfield. With Yaya Toure, who once again proved he’s a big-game player, Gareth Barry and David Silva all operating from the centre, it meant Darren Fletcher and Anderson couldn’t have enough possession to cause us problems. In addition, with Richards and Clichy superbly dealing with Ashley Young and Nani, we limited United’s main attacking threat and the sight of Wayne Rooney dropping deeper and deeper as the game wore on was a perfect example of how Mancini’s tactics, and his players’ execution of them, frustrated United and allowed our supremacy.

Focusing on individual players and it’s hard to look beyond Silva. Words do him no justice. He’s been the best player in the league this season and his movement, ability to find space and his awareness of others is just on a different level to anyone else. His pass for Dzeko’s second goal is one that everyone can try, but few can pull off, whilst his goal at the end was just reward for a perfect performance.

Milner and Balotelli weren’t far behind and whilst Richards and Clichy won’t get too many headlines, they will know how good they were. Above all, it was a stunning team performance, an absolute humiliation of United and we’re all set for a title challenge.

Manchester United 1 – 6 MANCHESTER CITY.

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