City win Manchester derby

LONDON: Sergio Aguero´s goal ensured Louis van Gaal´s first Manchester derby ended in defeat as Manchester City beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 at Eastlands on Sunday.

United manager Van Gaal´s side had to play more than half the match a man down as defender Chris Smalling was sent off in the 39th minute after collecting two needless yellow cards, having charged down goalkeeper Joe Hart´s clearance kick before a reckless foul on James Milner.

City had several penalty appeals rejected by referee Michael Oliver before Aguero fired City into a 63rd-minute lead after finishing from close range to crown a superb one-touch move involving Yaya Toure and Gael Clichy.

The Argentinian striker´s 10th league goal of the season left him top of the Premier League scoring charts after he had been tied on nine goals with Chelsea´s Diego Costa heading into this weekend´s round of matches.

Hart then saved well from Angel di Maria to deny United an equaliser 14 minutes from time before Marouane Fellaini wastefully headed wide when well-placed to make it 1-1.

Victory in front of their own fans saw Premier League champions City move to within six points of leaders Chelsea as they ended a run of three games without a win in all competitions. But they remained third in the table, two points adrift of second-placed Southampton.

Recently City have been held to a disappointing 2-2 draw away to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League and been beaten beaten in the league by West Ham.

They also saw their defence of the English League Cup end with a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle in midweek but Sunday´s result was just the boost Manuel Pellegrini´s men needed ahead of Wednesday´s return Champions League group clash with CSKA.

United´s defeat, and Tottenham Hotspur´s win over Aston Villa later Sunday, meant they dropped to 10th place and remained 13 points off the summit, with Dutch boss Van Gaal still to record his first away league win as manager of the Red Devils. (AFP)