Carlos Tevez of Manchester United surges forward with the ball

The Manchester derby 兩隊都來自于同一城市 is always a spirited game but this match was especially emotional as it marked the 50th anniversary 50周年紀(jì)念 of the 1958 Munich air disaster, when eight Manchester United players were among 23 people killed in a plane crash.

A former Manchester City player was also killed in the accident.

Players and fans observed a minute's silence 默哀一分鐘 before the game as a mark of respect 以示尊敬 to the Munich dead.

Although City had not beaten United at Old Trafford since 1974, a strike from Darius Vassel put City ahead after 25 minutes of the first half.

One Minute's Silence  I want to say a big thank you to our fans. I think they were absolutely fantastic before the game during the one-minute’s silence. Sven-Goran Eriksson, Manchester City manager

And a second goal from new City signing 簽約球員 Benjani Mwaruwari, scoring on his debut 首次出場, put the game out of United's reach; although Michael Carrick managed to grab a consolation goal 安慰球 for United in injury time 傷時.

Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson praised his team and their fans for the way they behaved before the match and for their performance on the field, describing them as "absolutely fantastic".

Eriksson rated 評價 goal-scorer Benjani’s performance "absolutely brilliant".

"When United have the ball, he works and works. I don't know how many kilometres he ran today," said Eriksson, praising Benjani's work ethic 職業(yè)理念.

City captain Richard Dunne said the result was a "nice boost" for the team, meaning that it will give them extra confidence 自信 for future games.

A Boost  I think we were the better team on the day so it’s a nice boost for the rest of the season.   Richard Dunne, Manchester City captain

Manchester United played a below par 未能發(fā)揮真正水平 game by their own high standards, with assistant manager Carlos Queiroz blaming fatigue 疲勞 for his players' poor performance.

A number of United players, including Wayne Rooney, were involved in last week's England game against Switzerland.

Quieroz said he felt the team was "affected by international call-ups" (回國)代表國家隊參賽 but he accepted that was a merely an excuse.

Duels  We lost a lot of duels and that was something strange for us.    Carlos Queiroz, Manchester United assistant

"We didn’t play well and need to accept that," said Queiroz, adding that individual players had failed to win their "duels" 比賽， 決斗 against City players.

The result is a setback 挫折 to United's title race – if Arsenal beat Blackburn on Monday night, they will be five points ahead at the top of the Premier League table.