Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United
53'- Toure
HIGHLIGHTS
The Blue and Red sides of Manchester clashed at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, and the stakes are rarely higher, as a birth in the FA Cup Final was on the line.
For City, it was a last chance at silverware for a side yet to bear the fruits of owner Sheikh Mansour's heavy expenditures over the last three seasons. Add in the fact that the Blues hadn't won a major trophy of any sort since 1976, and this match was absolutely vital.
United entered the match retaining hopes of winning the treble. Success in the Champions League Quarterfinals against Chelsea at mid-week raised confidence, but it also heightened the squad's overall fatigue and fitness. The busy fixture list saw Sir Alex Ferguson swap out Javier Hernandez for Dimitar Berbatov, while Antonio Valencia entered the first 11 for Ryan Giggs. But the biggest loss was that of in-form striker Wayne Rooney, who served the first of his two-match ban stemming from his expletive laced tirade whilst celebrating a goal last week.
Roberto Mancini picked his best 11 for the match. But Carlos Tevez's injury would ask questions of his attack, which saw him start the enigmatic Mario Balotelli and skilled Adam Johnson up front.
United started on the front foot, and should have been one up 13 mintes in after Berbatov missed two chances in less than 30 seconds. First, Joe Hart saved his shot from close, and then the Bulgarian missed an absolute sitter, somehow touching the ball over from 2-yards out after reaching Nani's low cross.
City were resolute in their approach. They defended well, and started to get back into the match in the final 15 minutes of the half. Balotelli had a dipping long effort turned over the bar by Edwin van der Sar. Then, Joleon Lescott found himself all alone at the far post from a corner, but his full volley was rushed when he might have thought about bringing the ball down.
City's other center-half went close in the 44th, when Vincent Kompany's beautiful one-touch blast missed inches wide of the right post.
City may have been upset not to have gotten the opener whilst dominating the latter period of the first 45. But they came out with more of the same in the second, playing one of their best halves of football this season.
An early goal surely made things easier on Mancini's side. Yaya Toure read a pass from Michael Carrick in the United half, and then showed off his pace to evade Nemanja Vidic before slotting home past van der Sar.
In the 62nd, Johnson did well to tip toe along the by-line, beating Evra before van der Sar saved uncomfortably.
Lescott had another great chance one minute later, winning a header from close range off a cross from David Silva, but his glancing effort was well wide.
City's dominance ended with 25 minutes or so to play, as United substituted Hernandez for Valencia and started to throw everything forward. But their defense continued to impress, keeping the Red Devils at bay for the most part.
Nani had United's greatest chance in the 65th minute, but Hart did well to push his slightly deflected free kick onto the bar.
The Red Devils faced an even greater uphill battle when Paul Scholes was sent off for a poor challenge on Pablo Zabaleta in the 72nd. The Englishman couldn't have too many complaints, as he went studs up into the challenge and struck the right back on the upper thigh after the ball had already gone.
With tired legs and ten men, United couldn't muster a clear-cut opportunity for the rest of the match, resulting in delight for City, who enjoyed one of their most famous wins in club history.
As often is the case in this derby match, things boiled over afterwards. Rio Ferdinand took exception to Balotelli's taunting of the United fans, as well as a sarcastic wink in his direction. Seconds later, he was in the young Italian's face and had to be restrained by several teammates before finally leaving the pitch.
Thoughts
This match featured a brilliant performance from Mancini's men, who played with great intensity throughout and frustrated United's attack. For once, they played inspired football, winning the vast majority of the 50-50 balls (it's no coincidence that the Toure goal came from such a play) and keeping United on their toes in the back with some solid possession football.
The effort from the victors was worthy of the result. Toure was brilliant, running circles around the United midfield, while also joining his midfield compatriots with a fine shift defensively in the center of midfield. Credit also must be given to defensive midfielders Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry, who were all over the place, typically winning the ball from Man U in their own half before the favorites could sustain any sort of attack.
To be fair, this match was far more important to Man City than to Ferguson's bunch. United are on the cusp of winning the league, and have a Champions League Semifinal with Schalke to worry about as well. Say what you will about the history and tradition of the FA Cup, but it was United's last priority with regards to winning silverware. Perhaps that showed in their play, as City ran themselves inside-out to get the result, while United turned in an average performance at best. Simply put, City needed to win this match more than United, and it showed on the pitch.
In many ways, it's been a disappointing season full of turmoil and drama at Eastlands. The title push that the club hoped for ended well over a month ago, and European dreams concluded with defeat in the Europa League to Dinamo Kiev. But more disturbing was the off-field drama, featuring a host of disgruntled players, and face-offs between manager and players (Mancini vs. Tevez, Mancini vs. Balotelli being the main battles). In my opinion, all of that mess spilled over onto the pitch, as the immensely talented (although not well meshed together) side looked a beleaguered bunch, failing to score goals and lacking the supreme defensive effort required from their manager. But on Saturday, they finally showed what they are capable of, turning in a passionate and classy performance against one of the world's best sides.
Overall, it's been a year to forget at Eastlands. But another win at Wembley in the FA Cup Final could change that outlook.
City face Stoke City in the final on May 14. The Potters spectacularly defeated Bolton 5-0 on Sunday.
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