MANCHESTER CITY have it in their own hands to be champions of England for the first time since 1968 after a Vincent Kompany header settled the match last night just before the interval.
City have yet to go, in particular, to Newcastle United, but superior goal difference would surely keep them in front of Manchester United.
As expected of a derby fixture, this occasion defied reason.
After all the talk of weariness towards the close of the campaign it would have been of benefit to each team if someone had siphoned off a little of the energy.
United got pinned back as the first-half developed but there was little poise that would have paved the way to impact.
It looked as if this match was crushed by a surfeit of significance.
Indeed the opener from Vincent Kompany on the verge of half-time was as great a shock to neutral observers when he rose unchallenged by Chris Smalling to head in a David Silva corner. The match had been tangled until then, as if past events were continuing to wind through the action at the Etihad.
City’s 6-1 league victory at Old Trafford in October must have resonated with both sides.
To a degree the hosts had an advantage in fielding a striker who was both rested and close to full fitness.
Carlos Tevez did not appear for City from September to March after being at odds with the club in September when he remained on the bench during the Champions League match with Bayern Munich.
Even so not even a footballer of his fame is sure to be a catalyst. Considering the status accorded to the Premier League by television watchers around the globe, it is odd to reflect on how parochial the standard of play has often looked of late despite the cosmopolitan make-up of the squads.
Neither of these clubs coped well with European competitions this season and they summoned up little finesse in the first half here, when effort swamped imagination.
City perhaps deserve the greater scolding, considering the sums paid out in the transfer market.
However, United can also go to considerable expense in certain cases, even if the books are balanced.
The ability in each of these squads was substantial by domestic standards. All that remained was to see who could best use the skills these sides are known to possess.
United had to make do with demonstrating good order while the ball spent much of the occasion at City feet in those first 45 minutes. There was a theory that the burden here was greater on City.
They were attempting after all to imperil a regime of league title mastery established by Ferguson.
At this advanced stage of the programme, Roberto Mancini would have been craving a resurgence of the verve that has faded.
It would have been to their benefit if they had purged from their minds the fact that United had not conceded a goal at their ground in the league since August 2007. That sequence came to a close here, yet there was much still to be done. At least, it was their opponents who had no option but to seek a bolder method.
For a time after the interval roles were exchanged as City, measured and optimistic over their prospects on the break, sought poise. They also had the will to occupy territory by pushing back United.
Ferguson’s team had little to lose then, but verve was slow to be rediscovered after it had lain concealed within the minds of his players for a period.
The introduction of a fresh forward in Danny Welbeck, who took over from the industrious Park ji-sung in the 58th minute, was inevitable but that still demanded that United establish better lines of communication with him and Rooney.
As it was, City’s main vexation lay in the lack of a second goal before the hour mark.
As the score stayed at 1-0, United would most likely have pictured themselves withstanding the storm and cancelling the lead. Indeed, they had the calm to force back City. Mancini reacted by sending on a defensive midfielder in Nigel de Jong although Gareth Barry already had that assignment. The Dutchman was taking the place of Tevez.
It was a highly conservative step and the sort of action that had led in former times to United pulling a memorable result. Nonetheless, City had not really gone into retreat.
They still looked slightly interested in scoring again but would have felt that attacks were of service in checking United. The destination of the title has become a matter of small margins in this campaign.
Guardian Service
MAN CITY:Hart, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Clichy, Barry, Toure Yaya, Silva (Richards 82),Tevez (De Jong 68), Nasri (Milner 90), Aguero. Subs Not Used: Pantilimon, Dzeko, Kolarov, Balotelli. Booked: Kompany, Toure Yaya, De Jong.
MAN UTD:De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Smalling, Evra, Nani (Young 83), Carrick, Scholes (Valencia 78), Park (Welbeck 58), Giggs, Rooney. Subs Not Used: Amos, Berbatov, Hernandez, Rafael Da Silva. Booked: Jones,Carrick.
Referee:Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
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