Play-by-play: The battle of Manchester

FULL-TIME: And City almost making the most of that corner as 6 foot 8 inch Pantilimon came up for it. The header doesn’t threaten but United should have seen this game off way earlier than the 93rd minute. You can find the full match report here . 92+3 minutes: Nothing off it, but now its a corner 90+2 minutes: And….is this the telling moment? Freekick to City just outside the box. 89 minutes: Ferguson’s eyes are flitting onto his watch and back onto the pitch every other second. City are closing down every pass from United as they look for one final killer blow to take this to a replay. 85 minutes: Just to update you on the score again. It is still Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United. The ball pinging in the United box as I type that and City are pouring forward. 82 minutes: A typical ‘oops’ moment for any defender. James Milner plays Kolarov into the crossing area with a cheeky little flick and his low cross seems to come off Jones’ foot and onto his arm. Those have been given before but no favours from Chris Foy this time out. Not for City that is. 79 minutes: Owen Hargreaves lacing up in the technical area. This has been a match of comebacks, but who will celebrate at the end of the final whistle is still a mystery… 74 minutes: Danny Welbeck comes off for Anderson. Ferguson will ask his midfield to stifle the threat of City’s attackers. This game should now be put to bed as another City goal will make it a historic comeback. 68 minutes: He has been in stickier situations, Paul Scholes, but this is not the comeback he had envisioned. Ardent Arsenal fan Supreet Bahl quips on Twitter: @supreetbahl: 2-3. Thats why legends should gracefully retire and not come back to play! [caption id=“attachment_175723” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Aguero scores to bring City back into the match with a scoreline of 3-2. Getty Images”]  [/caption] GOAL!!64 minutes: City have their tails up now! Paul Scholes gives the ball away on his comeback and Sergio Aguero makes the most of the mistake. His shot is saved by Lindegaard but tight in the path of the Argentine, who makes no mistake from a couple of feet away. Incredible stuff. Absolutely incredible. 62 minutes: Antonio Valencia brought down in the box and it certainly looks like a foul. Chris Foy, probably thinking about that red card in the back of his mind, controls the urge to blow the whistle for what would have been a second penalty of the match. 58 minutes: Well, well, well….look who’s here! Paul Scholes takes to the field. He would have loved to do it at Old Trafford but coming on with his team 3-0 up, he’ll take it. 55 minutes: Jones fancying his chances from the right side of midfield. Valencia lays it up for him and he chooses to arrange it in the back of the net…pretty harmless though with the shot blocked. Meanwhile, Jacqui Oatley on Twitter @JacquiOatley: Gallagher also said on @bbc5live contact irrelevant. Nani didn’t need to stand there and get 2 broken legs to prove tackle was bad. 52 minutes: Fizzing shot from Wayne Rooney with his left foot. That is agonizingly close! 50 minutes: Paul Scholes warming up for United. This could be quite sensational. 48 minutes: So no cleansheet for Anders Lindegaard. Evra is adjudged to have brought Richards down. Aleksandar Kolarov looked confident in the run-up to the freekick and its a faultless one….easily beating the goalkeeper. 3-1 and is there a comeback here? Up and running at the City of Manchester Stadium. Stefan Savic comes on for David Silva as Pablo Zabaleta replaces Adam Johnson. Damage limitation from Mancini. HALF-TIME: Last play from the match sees a stunning cross from Antonio Valencia and Welbeck is first to it. He gets a touch, but it’s not a telling one and scoreline stays at 3-0. Manchester City’s players must be wanting to get done with this one pretty quick, but it’s only 45 minutes. The red card to Vincent Kompany is making waves on Twitter, with most agreeing that it was a harsh decision. Lawrence Booth says @the_topspin: Truly ridiculous red card for Kompany… 42 minutes: Any nerves for Sir Alex are now all gone. Surely this one is in the bag and Rooney is brimming with confidence. He tries to curl one in from 25 yards out but it’s an easy save. [caption id=“attachment_175703” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Danny Welbeck celebrates after scoring an acrobatic finish to give Manchester United a 2-0 lead. Getty Images”]  [/caption] GOAL!! 38 minutes: Pantilimon saves from the penalty, but Wayne Rooney has been relentless and he finishes off with an easy header from the rebound. 3-0 and probably no way back for City. PENALTY!! 38 minutes 35 minutes: City fans still going strong. They know somewhere that this game still has a goal in it from their side. But even Manchester United had a goal in the 6-1 beating in their previous fixture. GOAL!!30 minutes: What a way to finish the move. That is exactly what one can do if Carrick gets in the act from the off. He finds Rooney who plays Nani on the left. Nani keeps cutting in trademark style before a dummy and lay-off to the rushing Evra. Evra’s cross is blocked and loops into the air, but wait a minute! Danny Welbeck just twists and smacks one in…it goes into the net in slow motion. Brilliant stuff. 29 minutes: Still relying on the risky long pass, Man United have to keep it down and simple in the middle. Michael Carrick not having enough of the ball and the tempo is wayward. 25 minutes: If you ask me, then United should be playing much better, especially being at an advantage but instead they are under constant attack from City. Aguero and Silva confidently taking the defenders on and threading passes. Rio Ferdinand has an argument with Jones after a wayward pass from the senior man was not collected by who could be the future captain at United. Mancini screaming instructions from the touchline meanwhile and tell you what, he looks very calm and composed. 22 minutes: Roberto Mancini did concede that Manchester United were still the team to beat. They really have a chance to show that, but if they allow Silva to control the game from the middle like he is now, then there might be an equaliser here. Corner from Johnson, nothing much off it. 18 minutes: City are certainly not giving up here in spite of being a man down. Aguero and Johnson link up nicely on the right of the pitch and the latter crosses one in, but it’s easily blocked. United slow things down to get a grip on the game and make their advantage count. 14 minutes: This game is already rocking. Sergio Aguero collects a lose ball before unleashing a lovely side-footed shot, curling towards the United goal. Lindegaard should be credited for keeping that one out with a flying save. [caption id=“attachment_175693” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Wayne Rooney of Manchester United celebrates scoring the opening goal. Getty Images”]  [/caption] RED CARD! 11 minutes: If Manchester United had to select one player to be sent off for City, then it would be their best player and that is surely Vincent Kompany. Nani collects the ball and is about to turn but the Belgian defender goes in with two-feet and it’s a straight red from Chris Foy. City down to 10 men. GOAL!! 10 minutes: Breakthrough here and it is Wayne Rooney with a header! He collects the ball in the middle of the park and spreads it out to Valencia on the right. A first-time cross follows and Wayne Rooney, who kept running towards the box thumps in a header which goes in and off the bar. 1-0 to Manchester United. 6 minutes: And there we go, United’s goalkeeping woes pretty much out in the open as Lindegaard take a heavy touch and gets closed down before taking a kick. The block peters away to the touchline. 5 minutes: Silva slowly getting on the ball more often now. He has looked to play Milner in behind the defence line every time but United’s defenders have kept it clean up till now. Goal kick to Lindegaard off that latest attack. 3 minutes: Electric atmosphere at the City of Manchester Stadium. Somewhere in that stadium are the brave few fans singing the new favourite United anthem…‘U..N..I..T..E..D, United are the team for me…’ But clearly, the ‘Come on City!’ chants are louder. Kick-off! Your eyesight isn’t playing tricks with you. Paul Scholes is back. Oh yes, that’s right. Paul Scholes is back from retirement. Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on Twitter: “The boy is back! The best I’ve seen!” Wonder if he will be cheering the same way after the match. Manchester City: Costel Pantilimon, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Samir Nasri, David Silva, Nigel De Jong, Sergio Aguero Manchester United: Anders Lindegaard, Patrice Evra, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Nani, Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck Pre-match It is not often that Manchester United go into a game as under-dogs, especially not against Manchester City. But this time, Alex Ferguson, missing nine first-team players will look to reduce the number of attacks on his defence rather than go all out in attack. This is the first time the two teams face-off after the humiliating 6-1 defeat the Old Trafford crowd were subjected to. If United win today, then it will be a sort of redemption to do it in the blue-half of Manchester. [caption id=“attachment_175664” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mancini and Ferguson will do everything to ensure a victory. Reuters”]  [/caption] In the FA Cup, the teams have met a total of seven times- United winning four of those and City three. The last time they faced each other in this cup, City came out winner, eventually going on to win the final too. An exit for Ferguson’s team in the 3rd round is never expected. The only time it has happened under him is in 2010, when Leeds United, another bitter rival, ousted them in the similar stage. Coming at the back of two defeats, another one here will put Fergie in a bit of a fix…but a win will sky-rocket their confidence. The tremors of today’s result will surely be felt in the English Premier league too.