Rueful Mancini can only think of what might have been

Rueful Mancini can only think of what might have been

Marc Fox

In contrast to last season's stormy derby encounters in Manchester, both managers finished with smiles on their faces.

However, while one man - Sir Alex Ferguson - was beaming from ear to ear, the other had a rueful look.

Roberto Mancini hasn't often played second fiddle in his transfer dealings during this tenure at English champions Manchester City, but it's no secret that he made Robin van Persie his no. 1 target during the summer break.

Van Persie, though, chose United, and it was his free-kick winner in the dying stages of Sunday's feisty encounter that ended City's 37-game unbeaten home run and sent United six points clear at the top of the table.

Many commentators thought that the artistry of Van Persie might be the difference between the two sides this season, that his decision to swap Arsenal for the established order at Old Trafford rather than becoming another millionaire striker at the Etihad would prove to be pivotal.

Of course, with less than half the season gone, the ultimate effect of the Dutchman's decision remains to be seen.

But the performance of Van Persie - as well as two-goal Wayne Rooney - only served to reinforce Mancini pre-match concerns about the potency of the strikers available to him.

Rooney scored twice in the first half-hour as United firmly made their intentions known before goals from midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Pablo Zabaleta put City level as the game entered its closing moments.

City looked impotent in the first 50 minutes, and they were only awoken from their slumber when Carlos Tevez replaced Mario Balotelli five minutes into the second-half.

"I love Mario as a guy and a player but it is important for him to start to think about his job," Mancini said afterwards. "He can't continue to play like today."

It was again the Argentine duo of Tevez and Sergio Aguero that re-energized City and catapulted them back into the game. For long spells of the second half, the home fans would have laying money on another win over their oldest rivals.

But it seems that the Van Persie-Rooney combination across the city is firing better at this point of the season. They now have 16 goals between them in 16 Premier League games.

Rooney, the England striker who was controversially linked with a cross-town switch two years ago before agreeing a new long-term deal at Old Trafford, said: "It is fantastic. It's a great day for us, to go six clear and to beat our closest rivals.

"There is desire and passion at this club. Under Sir Alex, we never know we're beaten. It's no fluke how many games we've won late on. We know it could be in injury time or in the first minute - you've got to keep on pushing."

© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com