• Manchester City 1-0 Manchester United

Pellegrini: We stopped playing after the goal

ESPN staff
November 2, 2014
Sergio Aguero scored the winner as Manchester City pulled seven points clear of United © Getty Images
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Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says he is disappointed by the way his side switched off after getting their goal in the win over rivals Manchester United at the Etihad.

City arrested an alarming three-match winless run, which included defeats to West Ham and Newcastle, and in the first half played had a strong shout for a penalty turned down when Yaya Toure was tripped by Marcos Rojo.

When Chris Smalling was sent off in the 39th minute it looked inevitable City would break the deadlock as United struggled to repel wave after wave of attacks.

The hosts finally made their breakthrough just after the hour mark, with Gael Clichy squaring for Aguero to smash home from close range, but after that United gave them a few nervy moments of their own.

Pellegrini said: "I'm very happy with three points. We must win and we played very well up until the moment we scored the goal. After that we maybe we finished playing thinking that the game was over, but it wasn't over."

Pellegrini was also dealt a defensive blow before the match even kicked off as Aleksandar Kolarov picked up a problem in the warm up. He explained afterwards that the Serbian left back is unlikely to return for City's Champions League clash with Roma this week.

"No. I don't think so. He felt a muscle injury in his calf and I don't think he will be ready for midweek," he added.

Pellegrini's only other gripe was with referee Oliver, who waved away several penalty shouts. The most plausible appeal came in first half injury time when Rojo kicked Toure as he was about to shoot from 10 yards following a masterful chip by Aguero.

"It is unbelievable we didn't get a penalty [for the foul] against Yaya Toure," Pellegrini added. "It was not only a penalty but also a sending off because was the last man. There were two others against Sergio but we are not talking about that."

City skipper Vincent Kompany, however, revelled in securing bragging rights over their Manchester rivals again as they extended their recent derby dominance to four wins on the bounce.

"A derby win is massive and for a minute the league doesn't matter and everything else doesn't matter," he said. "Winning this game gives us an edge in our city, again, and the rest is a boost for us. We did our job today and we're happy with that."

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