DERBY DEMOLITION! Aguero strikes two while Yaya and Nasri rub salt into Moyes' wounds as new boss is embarrassed at the Etihad

            

Nobody knew what to expect from Sunday’s Manchester derby. They just didn’t expect this.

If anything, United got away with it. A three-goal margin does not accurately reflect Manchester City’s superiority. The statistics do not tell the story. They give United the edge on possession, City an edge on goalmouth chances. 

They make it sound tight. It wasn’t. At 4-0 up, City’s ambition flagged. Like all good teams they knew the job was done and the  outcome no longer in doubt.

They stopped tearing at United, stopped swarming over them in midfield, stopped bullying them back into their own half and settled.
Even then, it took a wondrous free-kick from Wayne Rooney to put United on the scoresheet. 

More telling was the appearance of his manager, David Moyes — or the lack of it. He barely ventured off the bench in the second-half. 

It was as if he had been rocked back in his seat, shocked, stunned, rendered mute in disbelief.
In this way, he mirrored his team. 

United were simply repelled by their rivals, shut up, dismissed, seen off. They pushed them deep, chased and harried them up the field. A few reputations will take some mending, not least Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick, who had looked so impressive at home against Bayer Leverkusen last week. 

This was another level of expectation entirely and they were found wanting. There were outstanding performers all over the field — but each one wore a blue shirt. 

Vincent Kompany was the best defender, Yaya Toure immense in the centre of midfield, Samir Nasri enjoyed one of his best performances for City, Jesus Navas terrified with his pace. As a forward partnership, Sergio Aguero and Alvara Negredo were a perfect team — Aguero scoring two goals, Negredo tireless in support. 

The newness of the  managers made this a hard match to call and while one bad game doesn’t make Moyes a mug, or one magnificent afternoon for Manuel Pellegrini erase the memory of five points dropped against Stoke and Cardiff, it certainly dictates the narrative for both men in the coming weeks.