Debate: did Ronaldo deserve to be sent off?

It was with a dismissive, disdainful air that Sir Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and others had shrugged off the idea of an uprising in the blue half of Manchester. To pour scorn on a highly mobilised underclass is to pour oil on the flames of revolution, but Manchester City are not yet in any kind of position to overthrow the establishment. Let them eat cake? Let them sign Kaká and see what difference that makes.

For the aristocrats of Manchester United, this victory, restoring the natural sense of order in the city after two derby defeats last season, was more straightforward than the scoreline suggests. Not even a red card for Cristiano Ronaldo, for an inexplicable second bookable offence, could throw Ferguson’s team off course after they took a deserved lead in the 42nd minute through Rooney’s first goal in eight games. It was the former Everton forward’s 100th club goal and enough to see United past their neigbours.

City were playing against ten men for the final quarter of the game, but only once, when Richard Dunne’s shot was cleared off the line by Patrice Evra in the third minute of stoppage time, did they come close.

Mark Hughes, the City manager, admitted as much afterwards. United, as European and Barclays Premier League champions, represent the yardstick against which all teams are measured and, at present, City are well short. That may change in the long term, with the club’s Arab owners determined to reinforce their team by signing A-list stars such as Gianluigi Buffon and Kaká, as well as Hughes’s more reasoned targets, but, both in the City boardroom and in Abu Dhabi, this result should bring some realisation of the size of the task of escaping from the shadow that looms from Old Trafford.

A team can beat United once — or even twice, as City did last season under Sven-Göran Eriksson, “a lucky manager” according to Ferguson — but if City intend to compete with the enemy and to build something enduring, yesterday will have to be a learning experience. “You look at this United side and they have players with huge experience of winning trophies and playing at the top level at European and international level,” Hughes said. “They are building from a position of strength. But we have to compete against them and, in the future, I believe we will.”

It was City’s misfortune to find their neighbours in belligerent mood, in stark contrast to the Arsenal team who lost 3-0 at the venue eight days earlier. United even accrued six yellow cards — including Ronaldo’s two — of which four were fouls on Shaun Wright-Phillips. Hughes observed, as diplomatically as possible, that there was a cynicism about the way United continually cut off the winger in his prime — Ferguson might have called it “systematic fouling” had Ronaldo been the victim — but there was also a deeply entrenched professionalism and dedication about the way that they went about their business.

Michael Carrick, not for the first time in recent weeks, was outstanding in midfield, while Rooney, after a recent barren patch, was enjoying himself again.

Ronaldo? His was an act of stupidity and it was no use trying to play the victim card. Already booked in the 59th minute for a late challenge on Wright-Phillips, he all but asked to be sent off nine minutes later when, attacking Rooney’s near-post corner, he handled the ball. The case for the defence was hardly strengthened by the number of excuses offered — Ronaldo, belatedly, tried to convince Howard Webb that he had heard a whistle; Rio Ferdinand claimed that the forward had been pushed; Ferguson that the poor lad was trying only to protect his face. As Hughes put it, “if he thought it was going to hit him in the face, why didn’t he head it?”

Even without ten men, though, United were good enough, having threatened through Ronaldo, Evra and Dimitar Berbatov during a dominant first-half performance before they finally took the lead. It was a goal that owed much to persistence, with United refusing to let City clear their lines before Park Ji Sung set up Carrick for a left-foot shot that Joe Hart could only push into the path of Rooney. The forward celebrated with all the restraint you would expect of a highly charged individual who had just scored his first goal in weeks at the home of the local rivals.

The introduction of Elano at half-time gave City a little more purpose and vision, but Robinho, upon whom the home supporters had pinned so much hope, was nowhere to be seen. Rafael Da Silva deserves much credit for that, the 18-year-old strengthening his claim at right back with another show of character in addition to his undoubted flair. Hughes confessed afterwards that Robinho had not been fully fit, having required a painkilling injection in an ankle beforehand.

While the City No 10 floundered, his United counterpart, Rooney, continued to lead the charge. In the final moments of the game, after Evra had cleared off the line from Dunne, Rooney tried to chip the ball into the net from 50 yards, with Hart stranded upfield. Somehow the City goalkeeper got back in time, but it mattered not. Within seconds, United’s supporters were celebrating. The blue revolution was on hold. Again.

Manchester City (4-1-4-1): J Hart 7 - M Richards 5, V Kompany 7, R Dunne 6, J Garrido 6 - D Hamann 4 - D Vassell 4, S Wright-Phillips 7, S Ireland 6, Robinho 5 - Benjani Mwaruwari 5. Substitutes: P Zabaleta 5 (for Hamann, 46min), Elano 6 (for Vassell, 46), D Sturridge (for Richards, 76). Not used: K Schmeichel, T Ben-Haim, M Ball, Jô. Next: Fulham (a).

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar 6 - Rafael Da Silva 7, R Ferdinand 7, N Vidic 7, P Evra 8 - Park Ji Sung 6, D Fletcher 6, M Carrick 8, C Ronaldo 6 - W Rooney 8, D Berbatov 6. Substitutes: R Giggs (for Berbatov, 84min), J O’Shea (for Park, 90). Not used: B Foster, J Evans, Anderson, Nani, C Tévez. Next: Sunderland (h).

Referee: H Webb Attendance: 47,320