Manchester Utd 2, Manchester City 0THE ONLY proximity between these club lies on the map. No one expects Manchester City to be the equals of the Champions League holders month after month, but occasions such as this ought to bring out the best in Mark Hughes's team. After all, they had won both of the derby fixtures last season.
Great investment in the squad is anticipated, but the owner, Sheikh Mansour, cannot be satisfied with the return on the large sums laid out so far.
There is a baleful consistency about City's away games in the Premier League; only two have been won so far in this campaign. They did not act as if they had any desire to make yesterday's trip to Old Trafford an exception.
Manchester United now need a maximum of four points from their remaining three fixtures to be certain of retaining the Premier League title. They might have been sparing themselves here with an eye to Wednesday's trip to Wigan. Squad rotation is standard practice, but Alex Ferguson's team selection showed that he judged the level of risk in this match to be moderate at best.
Players such as Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney were on the bench, while Rio Ferdinand, who has a calf strain, was not involved at all. There was sufficient zeal among those who were picked.
Carlos Tevez, having complained that he feels marginalised at Old Trafford, did as much as he could to show that United should spend the €24.6 million needed to make his signing permanent.
In the closing moments he was heading against the post from a tight angle after Darren Fletcher had nodded a corner towards him. The Argentinian strove to spread his presence across the entire occasion. Even before his goal there was incisiveness. He had swept inside Nedum Onuoha from the left and struck the far post in the 31st minute.
His 45th-minute goal, however, came with the aid of some svelte build-up, as Dimitar Berbatov tamed a steeply dropping ball from Fletcher before passing to the striker. Tevez also made space for himself, before firing home off the inside of the post. If he has any regrets, it must be that the impoverishment of City's football meant that his impact looked less remarkable.
United had assumed the lead through a Ronaldo free-kick in the 18th minute that brushed Nigel de Jong. The City goalkeeper, Shay Given, still appeared to have erred by taking a step to his right and then finding he could not cover the gap to his left. The scorer spared himself nothing to introduce intrigue to a bland game.
When Ferguson took him off with half an hour to go, it was an understandable decision by a manager who knew it would be senseless not to conserve the energy of the Portuguese. Ronaldo preferred to act as if his removal was incomprehensible, if not
vindictive. He went through his lavish repertoire of sulky, disbelieving expressions and gestures.
Later, the manager more or less passed it off as evidence of the attacker's desire to be on the field. Ferguson may very conceivably be harsher in private. Tolerance is born of the total of 26 goals notched by Ronaldo in this campaign. Two of them came in the Champions League semi-final at the Emirates last Tuesday, as if to confirm that he does not prey merely on the vulnerable, such as City.
Hughes's team was vague in its work, and you had to look hard to spot any tell-tale hints of competence. In the 51st minute Robinho did flaunt his technique to control a through-ball from Elano, but the ensuing shot was rash and high. The match was nearing its end before Edwin van der Sar pulled off a good save, from an effort by the substitute Martin Petrov.
Perhaps attention will always focus on any defects in expensive attackers such as Robinho. However, the brittleness in a defence that cannot attend to its work in a dependable manner is undermining Hughes every bit as much. City are scarcely to be faulted for an interest in Kaka and, now, Raul, but the odds are high that they will be rebuffed by such stars until the club builds a prosaic credibility.
An air of solidity is one way of achieving credibility. The club may have to turn its mind to taking small steps towards better times. United themselves attend to the ordinary and, even with Ferdinand ruled out, were largely undisturbed in defence. Jonny Evans deputised despite having been unwell in the morning, and when he was removed there was a further effective centre back to come on in Republic of Ireland international John O'Shea.
The United system is also settled enough for people to drift in and out without any cost to continuity. Carrick stayed on the bench but Fletcher flourished in midfield without his usual accomplice. The red card that may keep him out of the Champions League final, regardless of the appeal to Uefa, had not unsettled him. The concentration throughout United's ranks is looking unbreakable.
Guardian Service
