Manchester City goalkeeper Joe
Hart of confronts a pitch invader at the end of his side's 3-2 derby
defeat by Manchester United, whose defender Rio Ferdinand (at back) was
left with a bloody face after being hit by a coin thrown from the crowd.
Racist abuse, missiles from the crowd, a pitch invader and five goals
in an action-packed thriller -- Sunday's 164th Manchester derby
epitomized all that is good and bad about English football.
On the field, Manchester
United snatched a 3-2 victory that gave Alex Ferguson's team a healthy
six-point lead from second-placed Premier League champions City.
But the non-sporting
incidents continued more than a year of controversies that have plagued
arguably the world's most lucrative and widely supported domestic soccer
competition, starting with the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand racism
incident in October 2011.
Hooliganism was once known as the "English disease" -- but the game's malady is more pervasive than mere violence.
This time Ferdinand's
older brother Rio was involved, being hit in the face by a coin as he
celebrated Robin van Persie's injury-time winner.
While the former England
international wiped the blood from his face, City goalkeeper Joe Hart
intervened
to confront a fan who had invaded the pitch -- police then
hauled him from the ground.
The Greater Manchester force also reported after the match that another man had been arrested inside City's Etihad Stadium on suspicion of chanting racist abuse.
United manager Alex
Ferguson condemned these transgressions after the match, and called for
action by the authorities as he cited similar problems during October's
controversial clash at Chelsea -- which saw ref Mark Clattenburg accused
of racism before being cleared, and John Obi Mikel fined and banned for
confronting the official after the match.
"It was disappointing
that a supporter ran on the field after Rio had been hit by a coin in
the eye," Ferguson told MUTV. "It's a bit disappointing. The game didn't
deserve that.
"I don't know whether
they're going to stitch it or not. The same thing happened at Chelsea
with all the carry-on when half a seat hit Michael Carrick and coins and
lighters were thrown on. The game doesn't need that."
City released an apologetic statement afterwards promising to investigate, but Ferdinand laughed off the coin attack as he posted on his Twitter account after the game.
"What a result, 3
points! Sweet! Whoever threw that coin, what a shot! Can't believe it
was a copper 2p....could have at least been a £1 coin!," the 34-year-old
wrote.
"Respect to Joe Hart for
protecting that idiot who ran on!! Love the banter between fans but
there is a point when it goes too far...calm it!"
The problems also
extended to the internet, with the Greater Manchester Police reporting
on Twitter that it is investigating reports of racist tweets.
Earlier it had reported
that a man had been arrested outside the Etihad Stadium on suspicion of
ticket touting, but a prematch prediction from the man in charge of
policing the game proved wide of the mark.
"I have every confidence
this match will mirror the two derbies last season and the football
will be the only talking point," Superintendent Craig Thompson said.
Last season City
thrashed United 6-1 at Old Trafford on the same day that Terry clashed
with Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand.
The fallout from that
incident cost the Chelsea player the England captaincy, then he was
cleared of racial abuse in court before being fined and banned by the
English Football Association.
Roberto Mancini's team
won 1-0 in the home derby on April 30 before claiming the 2011-12 league
title on goal difference from Ferguson's men on the final day of the
season.
Mancini's role at the
Abu Dhabi-owned club has become more precarious since then, with City
crashing out of the UEFA Champions League at the group stage for the
second season in a row.
Sunday's defeat ended
City's 21-match unbeaten run in the EPL, 15 of those this season, and
halted a run of 37 matches without defeat at home which stretched back
to December 2010.
Van Persie scored a
last-gasp winner for United, firing in a free-kick that was deflected
past Hart, whose team had fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit.
"It's very hard to lose a
derby, but even more so in the last minute, so I'm very disappointed,"
Mancini said. "We dominated the second half, and for this reason I am
really disappointed.
"They scored from their
first two goal-scoring opportunities but after that we dominated the
game and fought back really well -- but we can't then give a goal away
after working so hard.
"I think we made a
mistake for the Van Persie free-kick at the end by only putting three
men in the wall. I wanted four but I couldn't get the instruction over
and I think that cost us the goal. We should have defended this
free-kick better and we had chances to win this game, but there is
nothing we can do about it now."
United had conceded
first in 15 of 23 games so far this season, but a double inside the
opening half hour from Wayne Rooney -- which made the 27-year-old
England striker the youngest player to score 150 in the EPL -- put
Ferguson's team in the driving seat.
United winger Ashley
Young had a goal disallowed for offside after Van Persie hit the
woodwork just before the hour, and City reduced the deficit 60 seconds
later through midfielder Yaya Toure before defender Pablo Zabaleta drove
in a low shot from an 86th-minute corner.
However, Van Persie had
the final say as he netted his 11th league goal since signing from
Arsenal for $38 million in August, with City midfielder Samir Nasri
guilty of backing away in his position in the defensive wall and
sticking out a leg to divert the ball past a helpless Hart in the second
of four extra minutes.
City substitute Carlos
Tevez, who came on for Mario Balotelli seven minutes after the break,
was lucky to avoid punishment after aiming a wild kick at United's Phil
Jones late in the match.
Meanwhile, Everton moved up to fourth place with a 2-1 victory at home to Tottenham on Sunday thanks to injury-time goals from Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jelavic.
Clint Dempsey had opened the scoring in the 76th minute for Spurs, who dropped to fifth above West Brom on goal difference.
Liverpool claimed 10th place with a 3-2 victory at West Ham, as James Collins conceded a late own goal after Glen Johnson and Joe Cole scored against their former club.