Premier League: Man City 4-1 Man United
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Manchester United suffered a demoralising 4-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The absence of Robin van Persie from the visitors' squad made headlines, with the prolific Dutchman omitted with a groin strain.
Sergio Agüero opened the scoring in impressive fashion after 16 minutes as he unleashed a fabulous left-footed finish from inside the box.
City doubled the lead just before the break when Álvaro Negredo headed down a Samir Nasri corner for Yaya Touré to force the ball over the line.
Agüero netted his second goal of the game - his fifth in six derby appearances - with a close-range volley he could hardly miss just two minutes after the break.
Nasri completed the rout with 50 minutes gone as he sent a side-footed effort past the helpless David de Gea.
Wayne Rooney's fantastic free-kick in the 87th minute made him the top scorer in Manchester derbies with 11 goals, but it was scant consolation for David Moyes' men.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Moyes said: "We didn't play well, they were better. They started much stronger and much quicker than us.
"But we'll get better - it's a long season to go. We'll put this behind us and move on.
"Whatever manager loses the game, you try and win the next one - nothing changes."
Manuel Pellegrini was an emphatic winner in the battle of the Manchester derby debutants in the dugout at Eastlands.
The Chilean said: "It was a very important result. Normally you don't expect to win 4-1 to Manchester United but the most important thing is the way we played and I'm very happy.
"Normally, derbies are more equal but today we had a very good day and that allowed us to have the superiority.
"Maybe (United) couldn't play better because we played very well. We had good possession, we tried from the beginning to make space and we did it.
"I also think that in defence we played well, we didn't give them space to do damage."
Sergio Agüero celebrates with Manchester City teammates after scoring against Manchester United Photo: Getty Images |
The absence of Robin van Persie from the visitors' squad made headlines, with the prolific Dutchman omitted with a groin strain.
Sergio Agüero opened the scoring in impressive fashion after 16 minutes as he unleashed a fabulous left-footed finish from inside the box.
City doubled the lead just before the break when Álvaro Negredo headed down a Samir Nasri corner for Yaya Touré to force the ball over the line.
Agüero netted his second goal of the game - his fifth in six derby appearances - with a close-range volley he could hardly miss just two minutes after the break.
Nasri completed the rout with 50 minutes gone as he sent a side-footed effort past the helpless David de Gea.
Wayne Rooney's fantastic free-kick in the 87th minute made him the top scorer in Manchester derbies with 11 goals, but it was scant consolation for David Moyes' men.
Manchester United players look dejected after conceding a second goal to Manchester City Photo: Getty Images |
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Moyes said: "We didn't play well, they were better. They started much stronger and much quicker than us.
"But we'll get better - it's a long season to go. We'll put this behind us and move on.
"Whatever manager loses the game, you try and win the next one - nothing changes."
Manuel Pellegrini was an emphatic winner in the battle of the Manchester derby debutants in the dugout at Eastlands.
The Chilean said: "It was a very important result. Normally you don't expect to win 4-1 to Manchester United but the most important thing is the way we played and I'm very happy.
"Normally, derbies are more equal but today we had a very good day and that allowed us to have the superiority.
"Maybe (United) couldn't play better because we played very well. We had good possession, we tried from the beginning to make space and we did it.
"I also think that in defence we played well, we didn't give them space to do damage."