Sergio Aguero goal sees Manchester City past 10-man United

Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the game as Manchester City beat United in the derby.

Louis van Gaal -- already fielding Antonio Valencia as a makeshift right-back -- saw Chris Smalling sent off after the centre-back picked up two yellow cards in the first half, and Marcos Rojo later had to be stretchered off.

City duly punished United's makeshift defence when Aguero scored his 12th goal of the season to hand City a 1-0 victory over their bitter rivals.

England defender Smalling had earned his first booking on the half-hour for blocking Joe Hart's attempted clearance from point-blank range, and less than 10 minutes later he was shown yellow again for a reckless foul on James Milner.

The victory means City have now won four Manchester derbies on the bounce -- something that had not been achieved for 44 years.

It had been suggested before the match that City's recent poor form meant they no longer enjoyed the supremacy over United that they had enjoyed since Sheikh Mansour started pouring cash into the club in 2008, but this result, which puts City seven points ahead of their cross-city rivals, suggests otherwise.

City failed to show the same killer instinct that Chelsea have shown for most of the year, but they probably should have had at least one penalty.

Michael Oliver waved away shouts for fouls on Yaya Toure, Aguero and a handball by Daley Blind, among others.

The result means Manuel Pellegrini's three-match winless streak has now come to an end and his side are within two victories of the Premier League leaders with over a quarter of the season gone.

Van Gaal never looked like winning his first Manchester derby once Smalling was sent off and his team lacked a cutting edge up front despite the return of Wayne Rooney.

The United boss' lack of options at the back was clear throughout. He ended the match with Michael Carrick and Paddy McNair at centre-back after Rojo was carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a serious injury.

More to follow...

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