Dzeko double decks United

Manchester United 0 Manchester City 3

Thanks to two Edin Dzeko goals — with the opener coming after just 43 seconds — and a late strike from Yaya Toure mean City are now three points behind Chelsea with two games in hand, after their third successive derby victory.

There was dissent at the final whistle, with even Alex Ferguson heckled by United fans as he made his way out of the directors’ box.

It made a mockery of Moyes’ assertion before the match that City would not be top dogs for long as he saw his side beaten so easily with the sense that Manuel Pellegrini’s team were still playing well within themselves.

Dzeko described it as “amazing” but the reality was that City did not have to be, as United slipped to an unthinkable sixth home league defeat of the season.

“We are playing very well, not only scoring goals but because we have improved a lot in our defending,” said Pellegrini, who also lauded Dzeko’s contribution.

“He has improved a lot, not only because he scores goals but because he works harder now.”

For all the talk of shifting sands in Manchester since the Abu Dhabi United takeover of 2008, here was the real answer.

It has already happened. And it will be far harder for United to bounce back than it was for City to get where they are now.

For all the progress that was felt after the wins of Olympiacos and West Ham, here was another crushing blow that ensured that United will pick up their lowest points tally of the Premier League era.

Moyes talked about the difference between his walk to the changing rooms after the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool and the Olympiacos match but here he was again, doing his best not to make eye contact as he made his way along the touchline.

His team were utterly toothless in attack, with Juan Mata doing nothing to justify his record signing and Wayne Rooney wandering aimlessly with the desperate bad habits of old.

Pellegrini was as measured as always in his celebrations but even he allowed himself a little jig after seeing Dzeko find the net so early on, with City taking their third chance to score after just 43 seconds. Jesus Navas fed Yaya Toure and the Ivorian timed his pass perfectly to send David Silva bursting into the box.

The Spaniard was denied by a fine sliding challenge by Rafael, but the loose ball was helped left by Fernandinho, Samir Nasri hit the post and the ball fell for Dzeko to tap in at the far post.

“We never came out of the blocks. You warm up the players, get them ready, but we just never started well enough,” said Moyes.

The hosts were all over the place and City should have had a second when David de Gea’s poor clearance eventually came to Silva, who picked out Dzeko only for the Bosnian’s shot to be turned away by the goalkeeper.

Moyes responded by shifting Tom Cleverley to the right to allow Mata into a central role, with Danny Welbeck and Rooney rotating up top, and the home side actually had the better of the remainder of the first half.

Rooney cut in from the left and had a low effort saved by Joe Hart before Michael Carrick clipped in a ball from the right, Welbeck helped the ball on and Maroune Fellaini could only shoot weakly straight at Joe Hart.

Fellaini might have been sent off when he caught Pablo Zabaleta with an elbow before Mata passed up the chance to silence some of the chatter about his record move to Old Trafford. Rafael crossed from the right and Rooney swung at thin air before Mata lifted his shot over from the edge of the area.

Moyes responded by throwing on Shinji Kagawa at the interval but the Japan midfielder was isolated on the right flank and largely irrelevant.

City could have made the game safe when Nasri’s corner was glanced on by Kompany and nodded over by Fernandinho just five minutes after the interval but another Nasri corner soon after killed the game.

The Frenchman clipped over a ball from the right, Martin Demichelis’ run pulled Phil Jones away and Dzeko easily got ahead of Rio Ferdinand and stabbed in at the near post to give City some daylight.

Fellaini headed wide from a long ball pumped forward from right-back as United desperately looked for a way back.

Welbeck cut in from the left flank and had a low strike held by Hart, who then thwarted his England colleague’s smart flick from Rafael’s cross.

Toure had the final word when he collected a loose ball on the edge of the box and found the bottom corner.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3): De Gea 6; Rafael 6, Ferdinand 5, Jones 6, Evra 6; Carrick 5, Fellaini 5 (Valencia 66, 6), Cleverley 5 (Kagawa 46, 5); Mata 4, Rooney 6, Welbeck 7 (Hernandez 76, 6).

MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart 7; Zabaleta 7, Demichelis 7, Kompany 7, Clichy 7; Toure 7, Fernandinho 8; Navas 7 (Garcia 68, 6), Silva 8, Nasri 8 (Milner 74, 6); Dzeko 7 (Negredo 79, 6).

Referee: Michael Oliver.