Fergie blinks first as City take control

The most startling statistic that summed up the titanic Barclays Premier League (BPL) top-of-the-table clash on Monday is zero.

Not only was that the number of goals Manchester United scored in that vital tie, won 1-0 by fierce city rivals Manchester City, but it was also the number of shots the Red Devils had on target.

It was a damning indictment of Man United's uncharacteristically meek surrender of their top spot, as Man City gleefully leapfrogged over them on goal difference.

In crunch clashes of years gone by, the 19-time English champions have grabbed the games by the scruff of their necks and attacked relentlessly from the opening whistle.

More often than not, they would become even more dangerous when trailing their opponents, as they did for half of Monday's match after Vincent Kompany's header put City up at the stroke of half-time.

Against City, who have not won a top-tier league title since 1968, United's vast big-match know-how should have been decisive in steering them towards a 20th title.

Their former stalwarts, Denis Irwin and Paul Parker, reiterated that view ad nauseam during their promotional visit to Singapore last week.

While it would be fair to say that United were not rattled by the vociferous fans at Etihad Stadium, they were - ironically - undone tactically by none other than manager Alex Ferguson.

The Scot had insisted in the pre-match build-up that it was "not in Man United's DNA to play for a draw".

Yet, he shockingly dropped wingers Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young from the starting line-up, eschewing the duo's penetrative wing play.

Instead, Park Ji Sung and Ryan Giggs started with Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick in midfield, partly because of their big-match experience and partly because Ferguson wanted to clog the central midfield area to prevent City from exerting their formidable attacking presence.

It was a rather negative tactic, and it backfired as Park and Giggs endured poor games.

And when Ferguson finally deployed Valencia and Young as substitutes late in the game, City manager Roberto Mancini simply countered by throwing in two more defensive players - Nigel de Jong and Micah Richards - to shut United down.