Dissecting the Derby and other football related nonesense

The Manchester Derby was today (in case you've been living under a rock somewhere) and United were thrashed by City 4-1, a scoreline that is just about fair. The first half was utterly one-sided and City were by far the better side, scoring twice through a stunning Aguero volley and a Toure finish off a corner. The two goals just after the break from Aguero and Nasri killed the game somewhat, and after that United played a lot better and pulled one back but it was still a stunning performance and result from City. So let's look at some of the key elements in the win:

Kompany v Rooney

Some people have said Rooney played well today, as well as he could have, but the simple matter of fact was that Kompany completely shut him out of the game. Only once or twice in the first half was Rooney able to drop deep and influence the play. The rest of the half, he was well and truly in Kompany's pocket. Every time the ball went up to him, Kompany stepped up and won virtually every battle with the forward. He did manage to roll him in behind once but was offside at the time. His set piece delivery was dismal up until his goal (a consolation United barely deserved but a great strike nevertheless) whilst Kompany marauded at times, his position influencing the third goal.

Robin Van Persie

There can't be very many United fans who weren't cursing that RVP wasn't fit to play today and his absence from the team was obvious. Danny Welbeck isn't even in the same bracket as RVP and was completely devoid of any presence on the game. That said, I believe that RVP wouldn't have really influenced the result anyway, as United weren't creating anything and were getting dominated in the midfield. Maybe it would've allowed Rooney to drop deeper and influence the game, but this is simply speculation anyway. A team as good as Man United should be able to if not replace their main striker, at least cope without him and today they simply didn't.

Aguero and Negredo

In my opinion, Sergio Aguero is up there with Luis Suarez and RVP as one of the top three strikers in the division (sorry Benteke, Sturridge or Giroud fans of which I am all 3). He has been class at times and today he was excellent as ever, but a lot of credit should go to Negredo, who didn't score himself but certainly played his part. His control and pass for Aguero's second were excellent and his overall link up play with Aguero was very good. My only slight criticism was his tendancy to shoot from range, but there's not a whole lot wrong with a confident striker if he has the ability to finish.

The Midfield Battle

Although you could argue that Man City outplayed United in every single position of the pitch (which they did), the majority of the difference came in the midfield. Fernandinho is yet to convince a lot of people of his quality but the midfield looks a lot better with him in it as far as I'm concerned. Jesus Navas probably won't get an easier game all season in truth but still looked very good and set up the fourth goal. Nasri got a goal himself and his passing was very strong but the best player on the pitch in that first half was Yaya Toure. The big man won every tackle, tracked back brilliantly, passed brilliantly but most of all he was strong. He butchered Fellaini and Carrick in the central area and won virtually every duel and grabbed a goal to his name as well. In contrast, Valenica's lax tracking back led to the first goal and he only took on Kolarov once or twice in the whole match, choosing instead to shoot tamely from range or fall over in the hopes of winning a pen. Young on the other side was absolutely dire and both Carrick and Fellaini struggled to get any sort of foothold in the game. They were outmuscled, out played and simply out classed.

Ultimately, United looked very short on quality today. We've been saying all season how reliant they've been on Rooney and Van Persie and that showed. With RVP out and the best centre half in the league keeping Rooney out of the match, United looked dreadful on the ball and not a lot better off it. But credit to City. They've underperformed so far this season but today they played at their best and they were terrific. The likes of Toure, Kompany and Aguero are among the best in the world in their positions and the supporting cast all did their bit. I've been saying since we started that City have by far the best starting 11 in the league and probably the best in depth squad. Today they proved that emphatically. The challenge now is to get some consistency and play this well every week. If they do, the title is theirs, because Chelsea and United both look vulnerable. Moyes has a big job to do in picking his team up and the midweek game against us could be massive for them.

Elsewhere in the football world:

• Another excellent display from an Arsenal side down to the bare bones of a squad to see off a potentially tricky game against Stoke and move top. 4 wins in a row after that opening day defeat and they are looking impressive. 
• Likewise, Spurs continue to look very good defensively, but once again had to grind out a very tough result as they edged out a valiant Cardiff side in the 90th minute. But they need to play better.
• I have a huge admiration for Swansea and the way they do things and after a staggering midweek result, they got the job done in the league. As for their opponents Palace, these are very dark times.
• Hull City were fantastic again on Saturday and got another big result, this time at St James' Park. 7 points off Cardiff, Newcastle and Norwich shows they have what it takes to stay in this league (and yes I know I keep changing my mind on Hull every week and probably will until the season ends). 
• Chelsea need time to settle under Mourinho and I don't think they'll win the title this year, but they will probably win something and be a lot stronger next year. Today's opponents Fulham need to get some points on the board if they want to avoid being sucked into the relegation whirlpool.
• Paolo Di Canio has been sacked! I'm not entirely surprised, but I am bitterly disappointed for several reasons. Not only do I really like Di Canio as a manager, but it represents this irritating trend of sacking managers very early on in their tenure without giving them a chance. That said, the higher ups at Sunderland clearly feel that if they don't cut their losses early, then they could be dead certs for relegation by Christmas and 1 point from 5 games, 4 of them very winnable is appalling. Martin O'Neill back anyone?
• Liverpool were fucking awful on Saturday. We lacked creativity without Coutinho and the idea of four centre backs was okay in a defensive sense but we lacked balance and options going forward as a result. We need Johnson and Coutinho back quickly. Nevertheless, 10 points off 5 games is a good start, 3 ahead of United and level on points with Chelsea and City. Oh and arguably the best player in the league last season is back on Wednesday. Hello Luis, it's been a while...