Man Utd 0 Man City 0
There was no flying pizza for Sir Alex Ferguson to avoid at Old Trafford, instead it was egg streaming down the Scot's face after Manchester City had dealt his ailing side a shattering blow to their Premiership title hopes.
If the loss of two more points, and another blank for his shot-shy strikeforce was not bad enough, United also had Alan Smith sent off for a second bookable offence two minutes from time.
The result means Ferguson's side have picked up just one point from two games since their momentous victory over Arsenal and though the Gunners have also stumbled since then, Chelsea have now opened up an 11 point lead over United at the Premiership summit.
On balance of play, the hosts should have won at a canter. But all too often
their approach work came to a grinding halt at the edge of the City box.
Louis Saha saw an early effort cleared off the line by Stephen Jordan and then
nodded wide from an excellent position in stoppage time. In between, the
Frenchman provided the pass which gave Ryan Giggs with the best chance of the
match, only for the Welshman to fire wide.
Not even the late introduction of Wayne Rooney could alter the course of a
game which leaves Ferguson with the unenviable task of trying to raise the
morale of supposedly the strongest array of strikers in England who have now
found the net just 11 times in 12 league games.
In years gone by, if United had been suffering from any kind of goalscoring
crisis, the arrival of a side masterminded by Kevin Keegan would have been
ideal.
When Keegan eventually calls time on his managerial career, defensive solidity
will not be one of phrases used to describe the teams he has built.
Now though, with cash for reinforcements non-existent, the former England
coach has decided to make City hard to beat and even taking into account the
four goals they conceded at Newcastle recently, their goals against column
stands comparison with any Premiership rival bar Chelsea.
So, given United's well-publicised striking concerns and with Ruud van
Nistelrooy observing proceedings from the directors' box, it should have come as
no surprise the sides were still level at the interval even though the hosts had
completely dominated.
United could easily have had a couple of early penalties when both Mikael
Silvestre and Saha appeared to be tugged back but, mindful of the fall-out from
Mike Riley's controversial spot-kick award in the stormy encounter with Arsenal
a fortnight ago, referee Graham Poll erred on the side of caution.
Ferguson was fuming on the touchline but his reaction was one of pure
astonishment when Saha, making only his third league start, brilliantly took
down Scholes' long ball on his chest, beat the advancing James with a delicate
lob and was just about to start celebrating his first goal of the campaign when
Jordan got back to clear off the line.
Aside from a fierce, angled drive from Ronaldo that swerved viciously before
James beat it away, it was about the best the hosts could muster for all their
territorial dominance.
The problem was not so much scoring goals as creating chances. Time after time
United poured forward, down left and right flanks or straight through the
middle. Yet, with unerring regularity a Blue leg, chest or head got in the way
of the final ball.
Skipper Sylvain Distin and central defensive partner Richard Dunne were
heroes, as was Danny Mills, who used all his experience to refrain from diving
in as Ronaldo delved into his box of tricks down the left flank.
As creditably as Liam Miller performed on the other wing, it was hardly a
shock that Ferguson introduced Giggs for the young Irishman at the interval, a
move that offered Ronaldo the chance to run at Jordan, who had already been
cautioned for a foul on Smith.
After more desperate defending from Dunne and Paul Bosvelt, who produced his
best performance in a City shirt, Smith almost put United in front with an
overhead kick which Steve McManaman booted off the line.
If that was a half chance, the one Saha presented to Giggs on the Red Devils
next attack was gilt-edged.
The Frenchman's reverse pass sent Giggs clean through. The most decorated
player in United's history sized up an opportunity to inflict more misery on the
club he trained with as a young schoolboy, then beat James - and the England
keeper's right-hand post.
It was a slice of good fortune City's stout defending had deserved but it did
nothing to convince Ferguson about his side's attacking prowess, so he sent on
Rooney to try and win the game.
Unfortunately for Ferguson, it did not work and, with Smith's needless
dismissal for a foul on Dunne, following an early one on Bosvelt, heaping on the
misery for their embattled hosts, the visitors celebrated as though their
30-year Old Trafford jinx had actually come to an end.
Teams
Man Utd Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze,
Miller (Giggs 46), Keane, Scholes (Rooney 77), Ronaldo, Saha,
Smith.
Subs Not Used: Howard, Phil Neville, Brown.
Sent Off: Smith (89).
Booked: Keane, Smith.
Man City James, Mills, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Flood, Bosvelt,
McManaman, Sibierski, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anelka.
Subs Not Used: Fowler, Onuoha, Waterreus, McCarthy,
Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Booked: Jordan, Flood.
Att: 67,863
Ref: G Poll (Hertfordshire).
