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Sports / Soccer
Man U's poor start continues as City win derby
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-20 11:27
LONDON - Manchester United's stuttering start to the defence of the
Premier League title became a full-blown slump on Sunday when they were
beaten 1-0 by Manchester City.
Manchester United's Carlos Tevez reacts after a missed opportunity
against Manchester City during their English Premier League soccer match
at The City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England, Sunday Aug. 19,
2007.[Reuters]?
The win, courtesy of Geovanni's 31st minute shot, left Sven-Goran
Eriksson's City top of the league with a maximum nine points and looking
down on their rivals who languish just above the bottom three with two
points.
It is United's worst start to a Premier League season since 1992 when
they managed only one point from their opening three matches. It is also
the worst start by any defending champions.
The only good news for United was that all their chief title rivals
dropped points. Liverpool and Chelsea drew 1-1 at Anfield, Frank
Lampard's harshly-awarded penalty cancelling out Fernando Torres' first
goal for Liverpool, while Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at Blackburn
Rovers.
"We really should have sewn the game up even before they'd crossed the
halfway line. We've only got ourselves to blame -- let's make no mistake
about that," United manager Alex Ferguson told the club's Web site
(www.manutd.com).
An untidy Manchester derby at Eastlands was settled after 31 minutes by
Geovanni, one of the numerous foreign signings made by former England
boss Eriksson since taking charge last month.
The Brazilian midfielder delivered a low swerving shot that skimmed off
the shin of United defender Nemanja Vidic before nestling inside the post.
It was one of the few City attacks in a match dominated by a United side
missing the injured Wayne Rooney and suspended Cristiano Ronaldo but
including Owen Hargreaves in midfield for the first time since signing
from Bayern Munich.
United wasted numerous chances with Nani failing to beat City keeper
Kasper Schmeichel, son of United great Peter, in the opening minutes.
Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez squandered opportunities and Vidic also
headed against the crossbar for the champions.
Eriksson, enjoying a dream start to his return to English football,
praised his defenders for a resolute performance.
"Today we defended very well, our back line and goalkeeper were
fantastic," the Swede told the BBC. "I'm very happy, nine points and
three clean sheets.
"We'll enjoy the night but the season is very long ... today we had a bit
of luck."
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez described the decision of referee Rob
Styles to award Chelsea a penalty as "unbelievable" after watching his
side pegged back.
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