Man City defeats Man Utd with Kompany goal

Kompany\'s header hit the back of the net in time added on at the end of the first half If Vincent Kompany did not already have his own limousine firm, he would never have to pay for transport again in the blue half of Manchester. Roberto Mancini might have thought Carlos Tevez would score the most important goal in  Manchester City’s history but  destiny chose Kompany on Monday night.
It was Kompany who dropped off the shoulder of Chris Smalling to meet David Silva’s beautifully  executed 45th-minute corner.  Kompany, who rose to out-jump the towering Manchester United  centre back, all 6ft 5in of him, to thump a header past David de Gea.
And it was Kompany who then turned towards City’s supporters, amid scenes of sheer ecstasy, and rose majestically again to celebrate his side’s return to the summit of the Barclays Premier League table. To celebrate victory in this derby of derbies.
The real significance of his goal, of this win, only time will tell. City still have to travel to Newcastle before hosting QPR while United will entertain Swansea before going to Sunderland on the final day of the season.
But here at the Etihad Stadium, on a night when the neighbours have never been noisier, it certainly felt like something truly  momentous had happened; something that not only marked an important turning point in what has been a fascinating title race but the end of one era and the beginning of another.
At one stage inside this Temple of Doom it all proved too much for Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s manager exploding with rage at the sight of Nigel de Jong catching Danny Welbeck with a nasty challenge in the 76th minute and becoming embroiled in a furious exchange with Mancini.
In the end they had to be separated by the fourth official and a steward, with coach David Platt pulling Mancini away and the United kit man restraining an incandescent Ferguson.
At one stage the Scot was stood inside City’s technical area, and what will disappoint him most about this contest was that it was probably the closest he or any other member of the United party got to their fiercest rivals.
In more than 90 minutes of intense battle, Joe Hart did not have a save to make and that has to be something United will reflect on with huge regret.
Ferguson will also wince when he sees the replays of the goal. Wince at the sight of Kompany and Joleon Lescott so easily outmanoeuvring Smalling and Rio Ferdinand. Both United defenders went one way with Lescott, providing Kompany with the space he required to launch himself towards that super Silva delivery.
But Ferguson is sure to have other regrets beyond the crushing realisation that the championship that appeared to be United’s only three weeks ago is now in danger of slipping from their grasp.
He said this contest amounted to a ‘shootout’ between the best away team and the best home team in England but he turned up without one of his main shooters.
The decision to leave Welbeck on the bench until the 58th minute was a baffling one when only last week he was likening the partnership between Welbeck and Wayne Rooney to Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at their best. Just as it was of some surprise to see Park Ji-sung selected instead in a five-man midfield when the Korean had not appeared in a Premier League game for three months.
Instead, Ferguson opted for a more cautious, conservative approach, packing out his midfield and leaving Rooney to lead the United attack alone. No easy task at the best of times but particularly difficult against defenders of the quality of Kompany and Lescott.
It was a limp performance from United, lacking finesse, lacking those usual levels of drive and determination. On such an important night, rarely have they seemed so impotent.
While City started nervously, Ferguson’s approach must have offered encouragement to Mancini and his players. Tapes of Welbeck and Rooney against Everton eight days earlier would have been enough to give them nightmares. The first sight of that team sheet must have been a dream.
Needing to win, Mancini stuck with the side that had beaten Wolves the previous week, and with the front-line partnership of Tevez and Sergio Aguero, and that proved the more fruitful tactical plan.
That it is Kompany’s name that will remain for ever in the record books is fitting. He has been a brilliant captain as well as a brilliant centre back, a player worthy of an English title and worthy of the kind of adulation he receives from City’s supporters.
City deserved this victory, just as they deserve to now go on and win this championship having beaten United home and away, because as a team they were also outstanding. Yaya Toure was magnificent, as was Gareth Barry.
There were United players who also impressed. After leaking four goals against Everton the United defence did require major surgery and the axing of Rafael da Silva and Jonny Evans, and subsequent selection of Smalling and Phil Jones, did see United improve. Ferdinand was excellent.
City did take a good while to settle into any kind of rhythm, but once they did they managed to put United under real pressure. A sliced clearance from Rooney suddenly presented Aguero with a chance that brought a watching Diego Maradona to his feet in the directors’ box, but the son-in-law sliced his effort wide.
The game was being played with great intensity, and while it was not football at its finest it was so, so absorbing. Not least because of the battle developing between Kompany and Rooney and between a well-organised United defence and the City attack.
But just as the announcer declared there would be two minutes of first-half stoppage time, so United suffered that crucial lapse in concentration.
With the arrival of Welbeck after the break, United’s tactics changed. Rooney dropped deeper in the hope of supplying his strike partner with the perfect ball. By the time the game was up, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia had also been sent on from the bench.
But when it comes to defending an advantage, City have proved the real masters this season and they demonstrated exactly that. On went De Jong, and on went Micah Richards and James Milner too.
As Liam Gallagher said to  Kompany in probably the most  surreal post-match press conference in 20 seasons of the Premier League: ‘Vive La Belgian.’
Manchester City is owned by the Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited. The company completed a takeover of the club in a deal worth a reported £200 million. It was announced on the morning of September 1 2008. The wealth of the new owners meant that in the summer of 2009, the club was able to finance the purchase of several experienced international players prior to the new season, spending more than any other club in the Premier League.
Manchester United is owned by US businessman Malcolm Glazer, who took over the club in 2006 for an estimated £800 million.