United fans will be looking to forget today's match, as a dominating display coupled with lax defensive errors resulted in a crushing 4-1 defeat to crosstown rivals Manchester City. The most notable absentee from the match day squad was Robin Van Persie who missed out on his first Premier League match in two years with a groin injury.
The match began with a sense of nervousness from both sides, as the teams made careless mistakes and were unable to control the match. As the game settled in, it was City who asserted their control with a good spell of possession. The opening goal came from a mistake in marking in which Valencia failed to cover an overlap run by Kolarov who crossed in for Agüero to volley home. The second came at the death of stoppage time following a defensive mix up that left Yaya Toure free to tap in a corner. The only chance of note for the Reds in this half was a wayward shot by Valencia that failed to trouble Joe Hart.
The second half began in similar fashion after confusion at the back resulted in a through ball for Negredo who held up play and crossed to a wide open Agüero who sent in a powerful side footed effort at De Gea who was unable to keep it out. The Reds not knowing what had hit them succumbed to a quick counter by the speedy Navas who crossed to an unmarked Nasri who converted past De Gea. In an effort to get a foothold in the match Moyes introduced Cleverley, in the midfield, who came on for the abysmal Young. Determined not to end until the final whistle the Champions did will to pressure City and were rewarded for there efforts with a superb curling freekick by Rooney in the 87th minute to make the scoreline look more respectable. David Moyes will have to address these defensive errors before they face Liverpool next Wednesday.
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