It was a game which marked Wayne Rooney's 100th club career goal, an outstanding midfield display by Michael Carrick and the phantom whistle, or was it a push?
As Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, rightly pointed out: "if he says the ball was going to hit him in the face, why didn't he head it?" Cristiano Ronaldo has the knack of grabbing the headlines and he didn't fail in doing so in this, the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derby in years.
For all the hype surrounding this match, largely due to the shift of financial muscle between the sides, the lesson in football that was taught by Manchester United was worth more than any of the Abu Dhabi United Group's money could buy.
The match itself proved to be a harsh reality for City who would have realised how far they will have to go to be anywhere near the title contenders that they promise to be under their new investors. Despite the fact that this game was won by a solitary goal, with Rooney on hand to pounce on a Joe Hart parry from a Carrick shot, the gulf in class was all too noticeable.
This game though won't be remembered for Rooney reaching a goal-scoring landmark or for the audacious half-way attempt that would have made goal of the season a foregone conclusion before the year is out, but it will be for the bizarre fashion in which Ronaldo received his second bookable offence.
After receiving his first booking for a foul on Shaun Wright-Philips, the City midfielder, some would argue that Ronaldo was lucky that the referee, Howard Webb, decided to overlook the sarcastic clap that was aimed at him. A matter of minutes later Ronaldo left Webb no option but to produce the yellow card again and dismiss the United midfielder, yet it was his reaction to the sending off that kept the pundits busy in the post-match analysis.
A corner from the right hand side was floated in and Ronaldo, who had gained a great aerial advantage on his marker, in a moment of madness put his hands out and palmed the ball away. Immediately realising what he had done Ronaldo then implied that he had been pushed, in an attempt to persuade the referee not to produce a second yellow, unfortunately the embarrassment didn't end there. Once being given his marching orders and realising that his first excuse perhaps hadn't worked as well as he would have liked, Ronaldo then began insisting that it was in fact a whistle that made him handle the ball.
There was, it would suggest from Sir Alex Ferguson's post-match comments, that there was a third and final excuse, Ferguson said: "He has tried to shield the ball from hitting his face, but I'm not going to get into it because we could be here all day."
It was unfortunate that in a match that saw United give their bitter rivals a lesson in football and gain valuable ground in the title race that their hard-work was somewhat overshadowed by the cringe worthy fashion in which their No.7 refused to accept responsibility for his actions.
As Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, rightly pointed out: "if he says the ball was going to hit him in the face, why didn't he head it?" Cristiano Ronaldo has the knack of grabbing the headlines and he didn't fail in doing so in this, the most eagerly anticipated Manchester derby in years.
For all the hype surrounding this match, largely due to the shift of financial muscle between the sides, the lesson in football that was taught by Manchester United was worth more than any of the Abu Dhabi United Group's money could buy.
The match itself proved to be a harsh reality for City who would have realised how far they will have to go to be anywhere near the title contenders that they promise to be under their new investors. Despite the fact that this game was won by a solitary goal, with Rooney on hand to pounce on a Joe Hart parry from a Carrick shot, the gulf in class was all too noticeable.
This game though won't be remembered for Rooney reaching a goal-scoring landmark or for the audacious half-way attempt that would have made goal of the season a foregone conclusion before the year is out, but it will be for the bizarre fashion in which Ronaldo received his second bookable offence.
After receiving his first booking for a foul on Shaun Wright-Philips, the City midfielder, some would argue that Ronaldo was lucky that the referee, Howard Webb, decided to overlook the sarcastic clap that was aimed at him. A matter of minutes later Ronaldo left Webb no option but to produce the yellow card again and dismiss the United midfielder, yet it was his reaction to the sending off that kept the pundits busy in the post-match analysis.
A corner from the right hand side was floated in and Ronaldo, who had gained a great aerial advantage on his marker, in a moment of madness put his hands out and palmed the ball away. Immediately realising what he had done Ronaldo then implied that he had been pushed, in an attempt to persuade the referee not to produce a second yellow, unfortunately the embarrassment didn't end there. Once being given his marching orders and realising that his first excuse perhaps hadn't worked as well as he would have liked, Ronaldo then began insisting that it was in fact a whistle that made him handle the ball.
There was, it would suggest from Sir Alex Ferguson's post-match comments, that there was a third and final excuse, Ferguson said: "He has tried to shield the ball from hitting his face, but I'm not going to get into it because we could be here all day."
It was unfortunate that in a match that saw United give their bitter rivals a lesson in football and gain valuable ground in the title race that their hard-work was somewhat overshadowed by the cringe worthy fashion in which their No.7 refused to accept responsibility for his actions.
