Manuel Pellegrini on brink as Man United rout noisy neighbours
From a position level with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League at the turn of the year, City have tossed away points like confetti and after a fourth successive away defeat — for the first time since 2006 — they must now be looking anxiously over their shoulders at the chasing pack as they scramble to hold onto fourth place and Champions League qualification.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini may also be on the lookout for a new job come the summer with his hold on the post looking increasingly untenable. The Chilean against stressed after this Old Trafford humiliation that he is not talking about his position. “It’s not important,” he said.
But City clearly need to re-build and that may start from the top. Not only were they outplayed once United had recovered from going behind to an early Sergio Aguero goal, but after Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini had put the home side ahead by the break, they appeared to lack the stomach for the fight.
“Maybe it is something we can be concerned about,” Pellegrini admitted. “But it is easy when you are two goals in front to play with more trust than the team that is two goals behind.”
United, on the other hand, have positive spirit coursing through their veins and while City look to be in decline, their star is rising under Louis van Gaal, who basked in the glow of a seventh successive league win as City’s run of four straight derby victories was ended in glorious style in front of increasingly enthused supporters to make a top-four finish look increasingly certain.
“Of course you are playing for the fans and at the start of the season, it was not fantastic to be a United fan,” said the United manager. “We had 11 matches and 13 points and still they have supported us. This week they can go on the streets, head up and say, we are the better team because goal average (over the two games) is in our favour.
“Maybe it’s the best feeling I have had, but not the best performance because we started very badly. But after the assist of David de Gea, we regained our confidence and we scored a goal and then a second goal. Now I have to say the second half was fantastic.”
It was hard to see that coming as City at least started as if to show they deserved the mantle of champions for a few more weeks.
De Gea saved early on from Jesus Navas but even United’s ever-dependable goalkeeper was powerless to stop the visitors taking a lead that even by the eighth minute looked overdue. James Milner and David Silva worked the opening with Silva giving United’s shell-shocked defenders the slip to square for Aguero to tap in his 24th goal of the season and first in six games in the Premier League.
United, despite the best efforts of Michael Carrick, couldn’t get a foothold but crucially levelled just six minutes later from their first sight of goal and City were never in the game again.
Ironically, United’s anxious supporters were less than impressed when Phil Jones passed back to de Gea from half-way after a poor Juan Mata free-kick had been headed clear. But when a long kick from the goalkeeper was helped on by Fellaini, Ander Herrera got away to cross for Young to hook the ball in from close range after his initial effort had been blocked.
Young is enjoying a memorable season and the winger was again heavily involved when United went in front with almost half an hour of a breathless game. Mata opened things up with a peach of a crossfield pass and when Young and Daley Blind combined for Young to cross, Fellaini was never going to miss at the far post as he climbed to head powerfully home.
The tide had inexorably turned and it was as if City’s could see their recent domination over their local rivals ebbing away.
With Vincent Kompany suffering a recurrence of a thigh injury that had made even starting doubtful, they had lost their captain by the start of the second half. And without him, the ship sank without trace.
The third goal was the absolute killer and after Carrick had been denied it by a goalline block, Mata came up with the goods, racing onto Wayne Rooney’s pass after City’s defence had been too easily prised open again to slot the ball past Joe Hart for his ninth goal of the season.
City’s embarrassment was completed when Chris Smalling headed in a Young free-kick with three United players queuing up to score.
Aguero turned in a late fourth from Pablo Zabaleta’s cross to limit the damage but the contrast in emotions from when the Argentinian — who has now scored seven derby goals in as many games — claimed the winner in this fixture in November could hardly have been any greater.
De Gea 6; Valencia 8, Jones 9 (Rojo 75, 6), Smalling 8, Blind 7; Carrick 8, Herrera 7; Mata 8 (Di Maria 81), Fellaini 8 (Falcao 83)), Young 9; Rooney 8.
Hart 5; Zabaleta 5, Kompany 5 (Mangala ht, 4), Demichelis 5, Clichy 5; Toure 5, Fernandinho 5; Navas 6 (Lampard 74), Silva 5, Milner 7 (Nasri 63, 5); Aguero 7.
Mark Clattenburg 9
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