ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Manchester City 0 Manchester Utd 0:A STALEMATE confirmed these clubs could be in close proximity over the months ahead. At the close, Manchester United will at least have been satisfied to keep these opponents at bay. Considering the encounter was in their own stadium Manchester, City will have been peeved so few openings were created by them.
Excitement was so restricted an effort from Pablo Zabaleta that went a little off-target late in the match felt exhilarating. United by then were more often on the attack. The will to win the Premier League was at least as intense as the hunger of City, for whom trophies are unfamiliar.
City strive for parity with the elite, but the consequence was an uneventful if vigorous deadlock. The crowd was too engaged to be bored and the stalemate was to be expected then, particularly since the reported bout of influenza had not weakened United’s line-up to a notable degree.
Matters followed their course so rigidly there was even a predictable yellow card for the visitors’ midfielder Paul Scholes, following a foul on City’s Carlos Tevez. It ensured his suspension from his club’s next fixture, at Villa Park.
City at least acted as if they believed in their credentials as potential champions by hogging much of the play in the first half.
All the same, United would havecared little when they appeared secure.
Alex Ferguson strove to unsettle the opposition with a calculated outburst over the allegedly vainglorious streak in the people who run City, but earlier he had suggested circumspectly these opponents are bound to win a trophy in due course.
However, the United manager would also have wished to emphasise the pressure his rivals are under to prove themselves.
Robert Mancini’s team were intense rather than authoritative at the outset. It had been a while since Ferguson’s side were beaten by City in the Premier League. In February 2008, United lost 2-1 at Old Trafford and the only members of the victors’ line-up who have not been ejected since then are Joe Hart and Micah Richards.
Given the extent of the reconstruction since it is natural Mancini has put the emphasis on establishing a methodical approach. He must be concerned with the foundations of the team since all the lofty aims will rest upon them, but dullness will not be pardoned indefinitely.
Scant notice was paid to exalted exasperation by either side here and at half-time the player who caught the eye here was Nemanja Vidic, the United centre half, particularly when he covered the ground to close down Yaya Toure, who caught the eye for the hosts.
A lack of panache was harmful for City of late when the side scored just two goals while being beaten in consecutive fixtures by Arsenal, Wolves and Lech Poznan.
Mario Balotelli struck twice in Sunday’s victory at West Brom, but a red card then ruled him out of this match. In consequence, the dependence on Tevez looked all the more marked against United, his previous club.
The attritional character of the fixture was reflected in the thigh strain that saw United’s right back Rafael da Silva replaced by Wes Brown. At least the weariness did see pockets of space appearing.
Nonetheless attackers such as Tevez were locating space in which they could run and the visitors, too, had more of a taste for adventure.
United, indeed, had a moment of menace when Brown picked out Dimitar Berbatov after 57 minutes, but while the Bulgarian’s technique was as crisp as ever the volley flew straight to the goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The contest continued to find victims and Patrice Evra limped away 12 minutes later, with John O’Shea introduced in his stead.
That substitution emphasised once more the intensity of each side. The intent never flagged no matter how the personnel altered. This was, at least, the type of match which City have been aspiring to contend.
Even in November it was as if the stakes were at their highest. The challenge to relax and show imagination was almost impossible to meet.
Guardian Service
MANCHESTER CITY:Hart, Boateng (Kolarov 80), Toure, Kompany, Zabaleta, Toure Yaya, De Jong, Barry, Silva, Tevez (Adebayor 90), Milner (Adam Johnson 73). Subs not used: Given, Richards, Lescott, Vieira.
MANCHESTER UTD:Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Brown 49), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (O'Shea 68), Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick, Nani, Berbatov (Hernandez 78), Park. Subs not used: Amos, Smalling, Obertan, Gibson. Booked: Scholes, Brown.
Referee:Chris Foy (Merseyside).
Attendance: 47, 879
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