So, United are very nearly back? Reduced to ten men while dominating the game, the reds were undaunted and staged a valiant and stirring fightback which came within a whisker of snatching a result? This is undoubtedly the load of cobblers which will be peddled on MotD tonight and in the papers tomorrow. I saw it rather differently, as did most of those not swept along by the frenzy of football fantasy emanating from the dream makers of Old Trafford, and the Florida noodle merchants.
United were never the better team. For the first 25 minutes they saw a lot of the ball but did little with it. They were ripped to shreds three times and saved from catastrophe by the admittedly excellent De Gea on all three occasions. Smalling, a man well versed in cock ups of scale in derbies, must be a strong candidate for the most stupid CB in the PL. Faced with an afternoon of trying to measure up to keeping Sergio off the scoresheet, he decides it's a good idea to stop Joe clearing quickly to set an attack in motion - yellow card with only an hour to behave against a 100+ goal a season attack. In fact only about 5 minutes before he flattens Milner who was in the process of fleecing him. Then there were ten.
The ten didn't defend valiantly at all. Candy floss head kicked Sergio's feet from under him in the area and then repeated last season's never to be forgotten contribution to the derby: "gob an Argie" - Sergio this time rather than Pablo. Then Blind took a hacking kick between Ya Ya's legs, but lived up to his name by missing any of the three spheres he could have connected with, and felled Ya Ya with a hack to the upper thigh. I've been told the Sky pundits thought the ref wasn't in the right place to see either, so no penalty was given. Not that it's the ref's job to be in the right place. Or that he has a linesman who can help him out.
So to the second half, and a period where City played well, got a superb goal and dished out a lesson until the last quarter of an hour. What happened then had little to do with United. They got some possession, but not because of their greater passion, their "heart" or their incomparable talent. No, City simply started to give the ball away and looked as bad as at any time during the "crisis". Yet what did this translat into? One pathetic nose at goal by the tallest man on the pitch and one shot which brought Joe Hart's only real save of the day, the only shot on target I can remember him having to deal with! And what could City do in the face of this red tide? Well Navas hit the post, Ya Ya was a whisker away with a shot after he had opened up the space with a superb flick and then he planted a header inches over he bar.
Yes, United can take real pride from their display, knowing their young team of academy products held City to a single goal compared to the hammerings of recent seasons.
