Graphic: Ronaldo is top of the pile

Only in a city synonymous with rain could clouds threaten to obscure the silver lining that will embellish a gilded season for Manchester United. A third successive Premier League title is within touching distance and could be secured against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, but the overriding feeling after a comfortable win over the local rivals was a strange one, as if glory is not enough for some of these players.

There was a time when scoring in a derby match would effectively give you the freedom of half the city, at least until the next game, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tévez seemed more interested yesterday afternoon in airing grievances than in celebrating the United victory that their goals secured.

Tévez marked his goal by sprinting towards the directors’ box and cupping his ears — as if he had not said enough about the deafening silence from the boardroom about his future — while Ronaldo’s pathetic hissy-fit, as he was replaced by Paul Scholes with the match already won, was an embarrassing act that caused awkward looks among the team-mates who were watching from the stands.

Call it hanging out the dirty linen in front of the neighbours. It should not alter the overall picture but, at a time when glory beckons for United, who will, barring an almighty upheaval, have equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles before they take on Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27, it is alarming that two of Sir Alex Ferguson’s players should be thinking in such self-indulgent terms. No doubt Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, would have accepted some typical histrionics from Robinho and Elano if it was the price to be paid for victory over the club where he made his name.

Ferguson will bristle at the notion of any victory being overshadowed at this stage of the season, when, to use his phrase, “it’s all about ticking off those matches”. He is right, of course, and United continue to do just that, making light of the persistent but distant challenge of Liverpool, but he cannot have failed to find his two players’ actions yesterday unpalatable.

Tévez’s goal celebration, which appeared to be aimed at David Gill, the chief executive, was bad enough after he had given a newspaper interview in which he had said “goodbye” to United, but Ronaldo’s show of dissent, as he first shook his head in disbelief, then snatched angrily at a tracksuit top and continued to scowl in his seat behind Ferguson, was perhaps worse.

Ferguson called it a “horrible game”, but it was not altogether clear why. It was about as comfortable as he could have wished a derby match to be at this stage of the season, with City showing plenty of quality but not a hint of penetration.

With Nemanja Vidic winning every header and every tackle at the centre of defence, making light of Rio Ferdinand’s absence through a slight calf injury, United were assured throughout, even if, by Ferguson’s admission, they did not begin to perform as they can.

Tévez, a man with a point to prove, was a rare exception to the malaise that seemed to hang over both teams. He produced perhaps his best performance of a season in which he has been given and wasted more chances in the starting line-up than he cares to recognise. He meant business from the off, testing Shay Given from 25 yards and then curling a shot against the crossbar from the corner of the penalty area on the half-hour. It was as if he was determined to underline a talent that he will be parading at Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool or even City next season unless he succeeds in provoking Ferguson and United into paying a fee they consider prohibitive.

Tévez would have his moment soon enough, but first came Ronaldo’s goal in the eighteenth minute. Hughes was angry about the free kick that was given against Stephen Ireland for a challenge on Dimitar Berbatov, but there appeared to be enough contact to qualify as a foul in this era of non-contact football. What ensued was a free kick that was placed judiciously by Ronaldo, who spotted a gap in the City wall and gambled that he could surprise Given by shooting through it.

Sure enough, the City goalkeeper took a fateful step to his right before realising the ball was going to his left, too late to save it.

That was a little harsh on City, for whom Elano and Robinho had made an enterprising start, but there was no way back for Hughes’s team after Tévez made it 2-0 just before half-time. The Argentina forward’s shot was unstoppable, flying in off the post after a nice control and lay-off from Berbatov, though the overriding memory will be of the celebration, which seemed to be the way that Tévez wanted it.

That was about as far as it went for United as an attacking force, apart from when Tévez somehow headed against the post from a matter of inches at the end of the game. There was a listlessness about their play, but, with Vidic in this mood, they never looked like conceding.

The visiting team’s only real opportunity of the game fell to Robinho, superbly picked out by Elano early in the second half, but the Brazil forward dragged his shot wide.

City, who were solid in all other departments, would be an altogether different proposition if they had a top-class centre forward, a role that may yet be offered to Tévez. Big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond? It is not a new dilemma, but in an era when footballers seem desperate to be noticed, you would think that the role as the City superstar will not be difficult to fill.

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar 6 - Rafael Da Silva 7, N Vidic 9, J Evans 7, P Evra 7 - Park Ji Sung 6, D Fletcher 7, R Giggs 6, C Ronaldo 6 - C Tévez 8, D Berbatov 7. Substitutes: P Scholes 6 (for Rooney, 60), W Rooney 6 (for Park, 60), J O’Shea 5 (for Evans 70). Not used: T Kuszczak, G Neville, M Carrick, Nani. Next: Wigan (a).

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): S Given 6 - M Richards 7, R Dunne 6, N Onuoha 6, W Bridge 6 - V Kompany 6, N de Jong 6 - Elano 6, S Ireland 5, Robinho 6 - F Caicedo 4. Substitutes: Bojinov 5 (for Caicedo, 63min), M Petrov (for De Jong, 73), C Evans (for Robinho, 89). Not used: J Hart, P Zabaleta, G Fernandes, G Berti. Next: Tottenham (a).

Referee: C Foy Attendance: 75,464