Man Utd v Man City

Man Utd 1

Fletcher 81′

Man City 6

Balotelli 22′, 60′ Aguero 69′ Dzeko 90′, 90′ Silva 90′

FT 90 +5
HT 0-1

City inflicted United's heaviest home defeat since 1955

By Phil McNulty BBC Sport chief football writer at Old Trafford

Manchester City inflicted Manchester United's worst home defeat since February 1955 as they thrashed the champions in ruthless fashion to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

City were also the victors on that occasion 56 years ago, winning 5-0, but this visit was portrayed as a measure of their progress against the 19-time champions.

And Roberto Mancini's men could not have delivered a more emphatic statement as Sir Alex Ferguson's side were humiliated.

It was the first time United had conceded six goals at Old Trafford since 1930, when Huddersfield won 6-0 and Newcastle 7-4 within four days of each other.

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Roberto Mancini keeps focus on title

City led just 1-0 at half-time, but the second half was completely one-sided and the eventual margin of victory could have been even more convincing.

Mario Balotelli, in the headlines for accidentally setting his house ablaze with fireworks , put City on their way with goals either side of the interval as United struggled to contain the array of attacking talent in front of them.

United were reduced to 10 men when Jonny Evans was sent off early in the second half but City's superiority was such that they looked on course for a landmark victory from the moment they took the lead.

Sergio Aguero added a third and, even though Darren Fletcher pulled a goal back, this only proved the signal for a late surge by City that brought three more goals and a result that will have sent shockwaves through the Premier League.

Substitute Edin Dzeko scrambled in a fourth and the magnificent David Silva ran clear to add another, before the Bosnian striker inflicted the final wound seconds from the end.

RECORD-BREAKING GAME

Man City

First time scored six in Manchester derby since 1926
Equals biggest margin of victory in Manchester derby
Equals record goal tally in Premier League match

Man Utd

Heaviest defeat in Premier League
Worst loss at Old Trafford since 1955
First time conceded six at home since 1930

As Ferguson strode briskly towards the Stretford End at the final whistle, he will have been reflecting on the extent of the challenge now facing him from the club he once branded "noisy neighbours".

To increase United's pain, this was their first home defeat in any competition since April 2010, when they lost to Chelsea - but even that defeat, which effectively cost them the title, may not turn out to have the same long-term significance as this heavy beating.

United's stature is such that one result must not bring the immediate announcement of a shift in the balance of power in Manchester - but the swathes of empty seats around Old Trafford and the wave of attacks pouring towards David de Gea's goal in the second half emphasised that City quite simply have greater firepower and talent in their squad at present.

Mancini left Samir Nasri and Dzeko on the bench - but was still able to exploit a wide range of attacking options in Balotelli, Silva and Aguero.

In contrast to what was to come, City were barely allowed any time to settle on the ball in the opening exchanges, with Ashley Young prominent and drawing heavy fouls from Micah Richards and James Milner.

And it was against the run of play that City took the lead after 22 minutes, courtesy of a stroke of casual quality from Balotelli. Silva was the creator but Balotelli, given too much time and space by Evans, finished sublimely with a stroked finish into the bottom corner.

Manchester Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson

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A terrible defeat - Sir Alex Ferguson

Balotelli, in recognition of those latest chaotic events in his personal life, then revealed a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Why Always Me?". Despite the evident good humour of the gesture, he was booked by referee Mark Clattenburg.

United's hopes of mounting a serious response suffered a blow within two minutes of the restart when Evans, who had endured a miserable afternoon, lost concentration and allowed Balotelli to steal in behind him. The defender's only reaction was to haul the Italian down, resulting in an inevitable red card.

The opportunity was there for City to overpower their arch-rivals and they accepted it as they went in search of further goals to emphasise their supremacy.

City doubled their lead on the hour with another superbly created goal finished by Balotelli. Silva cleverly played in Milner, who provided a cross that left the striker with the simplest of goals from close range.

Aguero had been quieter than his attacking colleagues but got in on the act after 69 minutes. The outstanding Milner played in Richards and, once again, a delivery across the face of the goal proved too much for United, Argentine Aguero arriving to complete the formalities.

Mancini then removed Balotelli and introduced Dzeko, who almost scored a fourth within seconds of his arrival, only to see his shot drift inches wide.

And, with United chasing a lost cause and leaving space at the back, Silva fired over from 10 yards and Dzeko forced a fine save from De Gea when he was set free by the Spaniard.

HEAD TO HEAD

City		United
Correct at 23 October 2011
44	Wins	67
50	Draws	50
6-1 (1926, 2011)	Biggest win	5-0 (1994)
2	League titles	19
5	FA Cups	11
0	European Cups	3
2	League Cups	4

United refused to give up even in the face of impossible odds and Fletcher offered some hope when he pulled one back with nine minutes left, striking a fine rising shot from 20 yards that gave Joe Hart no chance.

It was a goal for which the phrase "false dawn" was invented. Dzeko took advantage of good work from Joleon Lescott to score the fourth before Silva got the goal he deserved with a composed strike.

And with some United supporters actually pleading with referee Clattenburg to put them out of their misery, one more moment of brilliance from the magical Silva found Dzeko surging into the area to finish left-footed for his second.

Lineup, Bookings (8) & Substitutions (5)

Manchester United

01 De Gea
03 Evra Booked
05 Ferdinand
06 Evans Dismissed
12 Smalling Booked
08 Anderson Booked (Jones - 66' )
17 Nani (Hernandez - 65' )
18 Young
24 Fletcher
10 Rooney
19 Welbeck Booked

Substitutes

34 Lindegaard
04 Jones
20 Fabio Da Silva
13 Park Ji-sung
25 Valencia
09 Berbatov
14 Hernandez

Manchester City

25 Hart
02 Richards Booked
04 Kompany Booked
06 Lescott
22 Clichy
07 Milner (Kolarov - 89' )
18 Barry
21 Silva
42 Y Toure
16 Aguero (Nasri - 75' )
45 Balotelli Booked (Dzeko - 70' )

Substitutes

30 Pantilimon
05 Zabaleta
13 Kolarov
28 K Toure
19 Nasri
34 De Jong
10 Dzeko

Ref: Clattenburg

Att: 75,487

Match Stats

Possession 45 55

Shots

12 19

On target

8 12

Corners

7 4

Fouls

15 11

Live Text Commentary

74:12

Joe Hart takes the indirect free kick.

74:12 Substitution

Substitution Sergio Aguero goes off and Samir Nasri comes on.

74:12

The referee blows for offside against Ashley Young.

90:00 +4:14 Full time

Full Time The referee ends the match.

90:00 +2:56

Assist by David Silva.

90:00 +2:56 Goal scored

Goal - Edin Dzeko - Man Utd 1 - 6 Man City Goal scored by Edin Dzeko from the edge of the penalty area low into the middle of the goal. Man Utd 1-6 Man City.

90:00 +1:38

Shot by Edin Dzeko from deep inside the six-yard box clear the bar.

90:00 +0:08

Edin Dzeko provided the assist for the goal.

90:00 +0:08 Goal scored

Goal - David Silva - Man Utd 1 - 5 Man City David Silva gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the six-yard box low into the middle of the goal. Man Utd 1-5 Man City.

89:02

Assist on the goal came from Joleon Lescott.

89:02 Goal scored

Goal - Edin Dzeko - Man Utd 1 - 4 Man City Edin Dzeko scores a goal from close range to the bottom right corner of the goal. Man Utd 1-4 Man City.

88:10

Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by David Silva,

88:10 Substitution

Substitution Aleksandar Kolarov comes on in place of James Milner.

87:31

Gnegneri Toure Yaya produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the left of the goal.

86:48

Phil Jones crosses the ball, Joe Hart makes a save.

85:47

The ball is crossed by Darren Fletcher, Headed effort from inside the area by Chris Smalling misses to the left of the goal.

85:07

Ashley Young crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left wing.

85:07 Booking

Booking Micah Richards shown a yellow card.

85:04

Micah Richards gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Danny Welbeck.

84:44

Foul by Gareth Barry on Ashley Young, free kick awarded. Chris Smalling takes the direct free kick.

83:46

The ball is delivered by Samir Nasri, Rio Ferdinand makes a clearance.

82:37

Samir Nasri takes the free kick.

82:37 Booking

Booking Danny Welbeck receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.

82:19

Free kick awarded for a foul by Danny Welbeck on Micah Richards.

80:05

The assist for the goal came from Javier Hernandez.

80:05 Goal scored

Goal - Darren Fletcher - Man Utd 1 - 3 Man City Darren Fletcher finds the back of the net with a goal from just outside the box to the top right corner of the goal. Man Utd 1-3 Man City.

78:04

Direct free kick taken by David Silva.

78:04 Booking

Booking Caution for Chris Smalling.

77:59

Unfair challenge on Edin Dzeko by Chris Smalling results in a free kick.

77:01

David Silva takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, clearance made by Chris Smalling.

76:49

Edin Dzeko takes a shot. Save by David De Gea.

74:12

Joe Hart restarts play with the free kick.

74:12 Substitution

Substitution Samir Nasri on for Sergio Aguero.