Manchester United stroll past passionless City rivals

Manchester United 2 Manchester City 0. Manchester United moved to within four points of retaining their Premier League title after beating their fiercest rivals Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford yesterday. Victory at Wigan on Wednesday night will mean Sir Alex Ferguson's team will only need a draw from their final two fixtures at home to Arsenal and away to Hull.

While the derby itself may have lacked some of the usual blood and thunder that the Mancunian derby serves up, passions ran high within the Man Utd team. Both scorers - Cristiano Ronaldo from a deflected free kick after 18 minutes and Carlos Tevez's thumping shot just before half time - had their moments of pique.

The Portuguese reacted with disbelief when he was substituted in the second half, tossing away the coat offered him as he left the pitch and mouthing "It's a fucking joke" as he took his place on the bench. The display of petulance will undoubtedly inspire another batch of transfer-related headlines, but was dismissed as nothing by Sir Alex, who said: "He wanted to stay on. All players do. I have other games to think about."

Tevez, who had declared before the match began that he thought he would be leaving the club in the close season, ran to the fans after scoring his goal and cupped his hands to his ears, indicating to the Man Utd hierarchy that while they may not appreciate him, the fans certainly do. The Old Trafford crowd had indeed been demanding that Ferguson sign up the Argentine before the goal, not least as the most likely destinations for Tevez are City or Liverpool, the No 1 bogeymen clubs for Man Utd fans.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
Martin Samuel, Daily Mail: "So what to make of the wasteland between the Manchester clubs yesterday? This was trailed as the upset waiting to happen, the final twist in the title race. Derby games have unstable properties and if any club were likely to knock United's procession off course, it was presumed to be their rivals from across town. Manchester City, sadly, did not have it in them. In horse racing parlance they stayed on, one pace. They were not disgraced, but not greatly encouraged either."

Kevin McCarra, the Guardian: "The only proximity between these club lies on the map. No one expects Manchester City to be the equals of the Champions League holders month after month, but occasions such as this ought to bring out the best in Mark Hughes's team. After all, they had won both of the derby fixtures last season. Great investment in the squad is ­anticipated, but the owner, Sheikh ­Mansour, cannot be satisfied with the return on the large sums laid out so far. There is a baleful consistency about City's away games in the Premier League; only two have been won so far in this ­campaign. They did not act as if they had any desire to make today's trip to Old Trafford an exception." ·