’Xavi? Iniesta? There’s only one player they always talk about’

THERE may have been something symbolic in the way in which Alex Ferguson put together his team for the most important derby in his near quarter of a century in Manchester football, packing the team with Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, three homegrown players with a combined age of 106 and the experience of many glorious campaigns past.

But, by the time the 93 minutes of largely lacklustre action was complete, Ferguson’s judgement, yet again, had been vindicated.

Giggs was United’s best performer of a first half in which the visitors managed to put their cocky hosts on the back foot, Neville turned in a magnificent performance at right-back where he stifled Craig Bellamy for all but one attack, one in which the City forward shot hopelessly into the side-netting under pressure from the 35-year-old defender.