Rampant City make Pellegrini an instant hit

Manchester City 4 Manchester United 1

The summer appointment to replace the man who previously held the majority of love from the Blues support, Roberto Mancini, oversaw proceedings yesterday as two goals from Sergio Aguero and one each from Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri gave David Moyes a first Manchester derby to forget as United manager.

A late consolation from Wayne Rooney will not be enough to brighten the mood of Moyes who, after defeats away at Liverpool and City, will now be under no doubts about how daunting the task of following Alex Ferguson is after his charges were completely overwhelmed.

“I would be very happy if we win all the games 4-1 but we must improve every day as not all the games are the same,” Pellegrini said. “We are just starting another style and I hope we will improve every day.”

There may have been two new managers in charge at a Manchester derby for the first time since 1947, but despite Ferguson’s absence, there was no lack of feistiness on the pitch.

Moyes also came into this with confidence having only lost to City as Everton boss once in 12 outings and United looked strong in the opening moments as they zipped the ball around.

But five minutes had not even passed before City took charge of a game they would dominate and their first bout of pressure ended with Aguero curling over after an uncharacteristic misplaced pass from United skipper Nemanja Vidic.

Word around before kick-off was that this game may have come too early in the season for it to have a real derby feel, but City seemed more than up for it. Nasri’s clever flick then started the slick move for the 16th-minute opener.

The Frenchman sent Aleksandar Kolarov clear down the left and his cross was met by Aguero and despite it being behind the Argentina international, the striker managed to turn the ball home over his shoulder past a helpless David De Gea.

City had United ragged, none more so than Rooney, who was occupying a striker role in the absence of the sorely missed Robin van Persie as the Dutchman was ruled out with a groin strain.

The England international was being wound up by the dominating City captain Vincent Kompany and after a number of skirmishes was eventually booked by referee Howard Webb on the half hour.

Any attacking threat United had was being undermined by Ashley Young who constantly lost possession in the final third and the visitors were restricted to a tame Antonio Valencia shot in the first half.

And it got worse for the struggling visitors right on half-time.

A Nasri corner was headed down into the path of Toure by Alvaro Negredo and the Ivory Coast midfielder turned the ball home after being played onside by Valencia who was guarding the post.

Any team talk Moyes may have given his struggling troops at the break was thrown out the window within moments of the restart.

Vidic, usually a dominant force in the United backline, was easily outmuscled by Negredo whose quick cross found Aguero unmarked and, despite a poor shot, De Gea could not stop City from extending their lead.

City were rampant, United were all over the place and when Young gifted the Blues possession again they struck clinically on the counter attack.

Kompany’s quick pass set Jesus Navas clear down the right and his cross found Nasri unmarked at the far post with the Frenchman volleying home from an angle.

United still had 40 minutes to endure and no doubt memories of their 6-1 demolishing at the hands of City at Old Trafford 23 months ago would have been conjured up.

The party atmosphere at the Etihad died down momentarily to allow United to settle but a tame shot from Danny Welbeck was then met by more goading from a buoyant home crowd.

United, much like the first-half, had their periods of possession but it was a rare occasion when they created openings and Joe Hart proved capable to tip a powerful Marouane Fellaini effort over.

There was almost a fifth for City when substitute Edin Dzeko fizzed a shot straight at De Gea and the Spaniard fumbled it but recovered just in time to stop it creeping over the line.

A Patrice Evra header crashed off the woodwork before Rooney did find the net with three minutes remaining.

However, his stunning free-kick from almost 30 yards was not enough to raise a smile from United’s players or fans.

MANCHESTER CITY: Hart 6; Zabaleta 6, Kompany 8, Nastasic 7, Kolarov 7; Navas 7 (Milner 71, 6), Fernandinho 5, Toure 8, Nasri 7; Negredo 7 (Dzeko 76, 6), Aguero 8 (Garcia 86, 6).

MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea 5; Smalling 5, Ferdinand 5, Vidic 5, Evra 6; Valencia 6, Carrick 5, Fellaini 6, Young 4 (Cleverley 52, 6); Rooney 7, Welbeck 5.

Referee: Howard Webb.