Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester City v Manchester United FA CUP SEMI-FINAL LIVE
FA CUP SEMI-FINAL Man City 1 Man United 0 FT[LNB]FULL TIME: Manchester City 1 Manchester United 0 [LNB]That's it, all over. Manchester City are through to the FA Cup final! They were by far the best team on the day, more inventive, decisive at the right moments and deserve their big day out back at this stadium next month. [LNB]A fabulous victory for Mancini who raised a few eyebrows with his selection of Mario Balotelli on his own up front, but the fiery Italian was superb.[LNB]There's a few handbags at the end between Balotelli and Rio Ferdinand but that will all soon be forgotten. The noisy neighbours have upset the natural order this afternoon and I fancy Sir Alex Ferguson won't be getting much sleep tonight as the party 'next door' extends into the early hours. [LNB] City slickers: The defining moment of the tie, shortly after Toure's goal [LNB]92min: Too much on the pass from Carrick and it zooms out for a goal kick. Just three minutes remaining. [LNB]90min: We'll have FIVE minutes added on. [LNB]89min: Toure has the chance to wrap it up, but he can't get the ball out of his feet in the box and Van der Sar (just about) manages to block and clear. [LNB]87min: No, its not happening for United. One section of reds fans celebrate but Nani's shot rippled into the side netting. [LNB] Penny for them: United's players watch on from the stands[LNB]86min: The game is very stretched now, United throwing huge number so of bodies forward to no avail. Is there a sting in the tail of this game? Final change for City: David Silva is replaced by Patrick Vieira. [LNB]84min: Kompany goes in the book for a body check on Park. And united make a change - O'Shea is replaced by Fabio da Silva.[LNB]81min: Half a chance for Hernandez - who has barely had a kick since coming on - but the Mexican's shot from 10 yards was blocked out by a melee of blue shirts. [LNB]79min: Adam Johnson's afternoon is over, he's replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillips. [LNB]77min: United need a spark here, they have stuttered their way through the first three quarters of this game, who is going to be the hero and rescue the tie? Certainly won't be Michael Carrick who has just curled a very tame effort from the edge of the box into Hart's grateful hands. [LNB] Off you go: Scholes sees red for a horrible challenge on Zabaletta[LNB]74min: Fergie rolls the dice and swaps Anderson for the wholly ineffectual Dimitar Berbatov. What price his shocking miss early in the game? [LNB]72min: RED CARD - Paul Scholes[LNB]A difficult task just became even harder, but Scholes deserves it. Zabaletta challenges for a high bouncing ball and Scholes connects recklessly high up his thigh. Correct decision from Mike Dean. [LNB]69min: Another chance for City goes begging. Balotelli dispossess Nani in midfield, Kolarov takes up the charge, head down, he fails to spot Silva in acres on the right and thumps his shot high of the angle of post and bar. Fancy the Spaniard will have a word about that. [LNB]66min: Off he bar! Nani's effort heads goalwards but hart was there to tip it onto the crossbar. [LNB]65min: Zabaletta is booked for a rather crude lunge on Park Ji-sung, five yards outside the box. great position. before United take it, they make their first change: Valencia is replaced by man-of-the-moment Javier Hernandez[LNB] Backs to the wall: City fans celebrate in their inimitable style following Toure's opener[LNB]63min: Will City rue these missed chances? they've got United on the ropes but the lead remains a slender one. Lescott just completely mistimed a free header, eight yards out.[LNB]62min: This is a wonderful spell for Roberto Mancini's men. they're attacking at will down the flanks and through the middle, Scholes in particular is being completely outwitted and out muscled. Toure zooms through the middle, feeds Balotelli whose shot is blocked by Vidic. The resulting corner comes back to Johnson who almost squeezes the ball under Van der Sar's hand at the near post. [LNB]58min: It is all City at the moment, United look shell shocked by the goal. Carrick looks a broken man and has just given the ball away rather sloppily again... this time without such dire consequences, though. [LNB]55min: Game on! This match has sprung to life now and City look the more likely of the two sides to score the second goal of the match. Silva's cross found Balotelli at the near post but Vidic blocked. [LNB]53min: GOAL! Manchester City 1 Manchester United 0 (Yaya Toure) [LNB]Carrick caught floundering outside the box and Toure punishes him with a wonderfully taken strike. The Ivorian nicks the ball off Carrick's toes, passes Vidic and slides the ball under Van der Sar's outstretched legs. [LNB] Goal! Toure slides the ball home to hand City the lead[LNB]51min: Short break following a clash of heads between Evra and Johnson. Both will be fine to continue. [LNB]49min: First chance of the half goes to City. Balotelli scoops the ball out of his feet wide to Kolarov who centres to the near post but the Italian only manages to squirt the return wide. [LNB]SECOND HALF: We're back up and running, no changes to either side. What will the next 45 minutes hold..? We'll soon find out. [LNB]HALF TIME: Manchester City 0 Manchester United 0[LNB]Great game, plenty of chances but no goals. Dimitar Berbatov will not want to see a replay of his sitter early in the half. All we need now is someone to score, which I'm certain will come happen the second half, which I'll bring to you shortly. [LNB]45min: We'll have two minutes added on at the end of the half...[LNB]43min: Two fine chances for City to break the deadlock in quick succession but United hold out. Just. Yaya Toure zooms through the midfield, past Carrick and the space just opens up for him but Vidic makes a last-gasp challenge which sends the ball out for a corner. From said set-piece, Silva finds Kompany whose curling shot from 25 yards out curls agonisingly wide of Van der Sar's upright. [LNB] No way through: Nani's free kick fails to break the deadlock[LNB]40min: Only five minutes of the first half remaining. What happened there? It has flown by. Something of a stalemate at the moment, neither side taking any chances. Something's got to give soon. [LNB]36min: This is a really good spell for City who have just carved out their best chance of the match. Johnson persists on the inside-left channel and wins a corner. Swung it, it finds Joleon Lescott who, totally unmarked, thumps high and mightily over the bar when perfectly set 12 yards from goal. [LNB]33min: A thunderous drive from Balotelli, fully 35 yards out, has Van der Sar scrambling across to palm the ball over. Slowly, slowly, City are edging their way into this one. [LNB]31min: Much better from City. Balotelli moves into the box and the ball breaks for Milner who swivels, finds some space for the shot but thumps his shot into the side netting. [LNB]29min: Two shocking misses, a spell on the sidelines for a leg injury and now Dimitar Berbatov looks like he's broken his nose. Things really aren't going the Bulgarian's way, he's currently having cotton wool shoved up his conk to stem the flow of blood after clashing heads with Aleksander Kolarov. [LNB] What a miss: Berbatov directs the ball over the bar from a couple of yards out[LNB]26min: Possession for City. No, they've lost it again. United are hitting their straps so far, they're hurrying and harrying their rivals out of it.[LNB]24min: Another (half) chance for United. Valencia swings in the corner which Vidic comes back to front to meet but directs his glancing header wide. Still not much (if any) attacking threat from City. [LNB]19min: Yep, it's all United at the moment and Nani is the key to all of United's good work at the moment. he's switching wings, coming inside an City are finding it hard to track him. [LNB]15min: Double chance for Berbatov. Oh my word! The Bulgarian wastes two guilt-edged opportunities in the space of a couple of seconds to hand United the lead. [LNB]The first was a stunning save - one-on-one with Hart who stuck out a hand to send the shot around the post. But the second was an absolute howler: Nani's centre found Berbabtov, two yards out, but he scooped his effort high up over the bar. Shocker. [LNB]12min: So that's how they do it! Fergie sits high in the stands at Wembley, armed with a walkie-talkie and barks orders down to fitness coach Tony Strudwick on the bench. [LNB] United front: Valencia and Kolarov tussle for the ball during the tentative opening stages[LNB]10min: Ouch! Nani recoils in agony after clashing with De Jong. the pair lie on the floor and as the Dutchman's boot comes down it rakes across the Portuguese's face. Looked like an accident and we move on. [LNB]8min: Half a chance for City: De Jong booms through United's midfield and threads a delightful through-ball to Balotelli but Van der Sar showed real awareness to sprint off his line and boot clear. [LNB]5min: Tentative start from both sides. Were we expecting anything else? Some tippy-tappy passing across the backlines, the odd thump forward, but that's about it. I'll be back with some real action when it happens, I promise. [LNB]3min: First touch for the bleary-eyes Rio Ferdinand. The United skipper made a dash to a hospital in Manchester at 2.30am this morning to witness the birth of his daughter, then zoomed back to be here for the game. What a hero![LNB]KICK OFF: And we're off. United in red, City in blue, batton down the hatches, I fancy this one will be a corker. [LNB] Fruity: A City fan holds an inflatable balloon aloft ahead of kick off at Wembley[LNB]5.14pm: Right the teams are making their way out on to the pitch at Wembley. A perfect playing surface, bathed in sunshine and not a seat in the house empty. The perfect setting for the first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup semi-final. Tremendous! [LNB]5.12pm: A brief interview with Mancini reveals why he plumped for Balotelli over Dzeko: 'Erm, movement,' says the Italian. Thanks for that. [LNB]5.06pm:The simple version of today's events would be to say that the team who can summon on the greater amount of chances in the absence of their goalscoring heroes will prosper.[LNB] Some might say: City's famous fan Noel Gallagher takes his seat at Wembley[LNB]We know that Rooney and Tevez will not be gracing the stunning football arena in north west London this afternoon. The question is, who is going to be the hero? [LNB]Roberto Mancini has plumped for Mario Balotelli up front today, on his own. Just saying, like. [LNB]Man City v Man United - teamsMan City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, Silva, De Jong, Barry, Toure Yaya, Adam Johnson, Balotelli. Subs: Taylor, Boyata, Vieira, Milner, Wright-Phillips, Dzeko, Jo.[LNB]Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia,Scholes, Carrick, Park, Nani, Berbatov. Subs: Kuszczak, Owen, Anderson, Smalling, Hernandez, Fabio Da Silva, Gibson.[LNB]Referee: Mike Dean[LNB]5.01pm: For many fans, the journey down to the Big Smoke would have resembled the famous 1980s film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. [LNB]A huge police operation has been undertaken to ensure the safety of the fans making their way to Wembley and a weekend of travel chaos hasn't helped, either. More on that beauty here. [LNB]5pm: Manchester United fans unveil a banner at every home game, at the Stretford End, a huge sign that revels in just how long it has been since rivals City last won a trophy. [LNB]It currently reads 35 years. An eternity for the blue half of Manchester, an era in which the Reds have gone about hoovering up every cup on offer, dozens of times over. [LNB]The wait for silverware could take a huge step forward today. [LNB]Welcome to Sportsmail's coverage of the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Manchester United from Wembley. They don't come much bigger than this. [LNB]I'll bring you all the actions as it happens and you can deliver your views on the game as it unfolds if you email thusly: tom.bellwood@dailymail.co.uk[LNB] United front: Nani opens the scoring in the last Manchester derby in February[LNB] Mayhem of the FA Cup! Travel chaos fear as fans flock to WembleyIt's the ?200m inter City express! Mancini's men get the train to London This was no publicity stunt... Rooney defended by Jack's dad over kissMy little Lineker: Sir Alex compares Hernandez to England legend GaryHargreaves set for exit as Fergie confirms he won't play this seasonAll the latest Manchester City news, features and opinionAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Adam Johnson, Fabio Da Silva, Roberto Mancini, Mike Dean, Mario Balotelli, Nani, Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov, Joleon Lescott Places: Manchester, London
