- Geovanni (31)
- Date:2007-08-19
- Kick-off:13:30
- Venue:City of Manchester Stadium
- Attendance:44955
- Referee:Clattenburg, M
Live Commentary
90mins
FULL TIME - MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Mark Clattenburg brings this thrilling encounter to a close. Despite constant pressure from their opponents, City hold out for the victory and take the top of the Premiership table.
90mins
Out of frustration, Tevez is booked for bringing down Corluka.
90mins
Van der Sar runs up to the penalty area to attack Giggs' corner, but City defend well.
90mins
The fourth official indicates four minutes of added time.
89mins
O'Shea earns United a corner. Giggs curls it into the danger area and Schmeichel misses the ball completely. Tevez is taken by surprise and reacts late, putting his header wide of the target from a yard out.
88mins
Play stops for a few moments as City defender Richard Dunne receives treatment for a head wound.
87mins
Petrov flicks the ball to Mpenza on the right channel, but his ambitious effort sails over the crossbar
85mins
City have defended brilliantly so far and will have to withstand a lot more pressure as we enter the final five minutes of the game
83mins
United are still dominating possession but are failing to make it count.
83mins
Hargreaves' in-swinging free-kick hangs in the air but Richards rises above everyone to head the ball clear
82mins
Mpenza brings down Evra on the left edge of the penalty area and United have a free-kick in a decent position
81mins
Giggs tries to pick out Eagles with a diagonal pass, but Schmeichel rushes off his line to smother the ball.
79mins
Corluka slides a pass through to Mpenza on the right, but his cross is cut out by Ferdinand.
77mins
The ball drops kindly for for Corluka whose fierce strike from 35-yards grazes the crossbar
75mins
A defensive clearance rebounds to Tevez on the edge of the box, but his left-footed strike fails to trouble Schmeichel.
73mins
Goal scorer Geovanni receives a rapturous applause as he limps off the field, making way for Michael Ball
72mins
Young striker Fraizer Campbell replaces Michael Carrick
72mins
A double substitution by Ferguson. John O'Shea takes the place of Wes Brown
71mins
Tevez picks out Eagles who goes on a mazy run at goal before Schmeichel dives at his feet and smothers the ball.
69mins
Scholes cuts open the City defence with a chipped pass, but Tevez had strayed offside.
67mins
It has been 15 years since United failed to win in any of their three opening Premiership fixtures
66mins
Geovanni takes the free-kick but it is straight down the throat of Van der Sar.
65mins
Hargreaves gives away a cheap free-kick in a dangerous position.
64mins
A good move by United ends with a Tevez cross floating harmlessly out for a throw-in.
62mins
Blumer Elano has been struggling after a knock in the first-half and is replaced by Rolando Bianchi
60mins
Tevez latches onto a Giggs cross from the left, but the effort creeps agonisingly wide of the mark
59mins
Nani makes way for United youngster Chris Eagles
59mins
A sublime back-heel by Tevez releases Scholes but, under pressure from Richards, he snaps at his shot and it flies wide.
57mins
Carrick sends Nani away on the right flank but under pressure from Dunne he fails to pick out any of the three United forwards in the box.
56mins
Tevez tries to get away from Vedran Corluka but his shirt is pulled back, earning the Croatian a booking.
55mins
Dietmar Hamann is cautioned by Mark Clattenburg for a poor challenge on Giggs
54mins
Giggs puts an inviting cross into the six-yard box but Richards sees off challenges from Tevez and Scholes to clear the danger.
52mins
The Reds have forced City to defend deep but Vidic gives away a free-kick with a clumsy challenge and relieves the pressure
51mins
United get a break and Nani rushes into a good position, but a sloppy pass from Scholes ruins the move and City regain possession
49mins
Scholes and Nani link-up again, this time on the right flank, and the Portuguese winger tries to pick out Tevez but Dunne clears
47mins
Giggs floats a corner into the mixer. Vidic rises above Dunne, but his header cannons back off the crossbar before Scholes hits the rebound wide of the mark.
45mins
Alex Ferguson and the travelling supporters will have been disappointed with the Reds' response to the goal, lets see if they can make amends in the second-half.
45mins
HALF TIME - MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Having dominated the opening stages, the Champions were rocked by Geovanni's goal and have struggled to recover.
44mins
Giggs tries to put a cross into the danger area, but Dunne gets his body in the way. He and Richards have defended stubbornly in this first half.
43mins
Tevez tees up Nani from 30-yards but his shot curls wide of the far post.
42mins
A Giggs cross intended for Tevez is put out for a throw-in by Dunne
40mins
Nani runs at goal, but Richards puts him under pressure and an alert Schmeichel races off his line to smother the ball.
38mins
Schmeichel fumbles a Giggs cross and Scholes is quickly on the scene, but Richards is on hand to spare his keeper's blushes
37mins
The City crowd are buoyant as they enjoy their best spell of the game
36mins
United counter attack and Nani tries to pick out Giggs in the box, but Richards puts in a vital interception
35mins
City are enjoying a decent spell of possession now, and their opponents look frustrated
33mins
Brown receives the first booking of the game following a foul on Javier Garrido
31mins
MANCHESTER CITY 1 - 0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Elano picks out GEOVANNI who finds space for a shot, which deflects off Vidic and beats Van der Sar. The Reds are left shell-shocked
30mins
Michael Johnson hits City's first attempt on goal, an ambitious effort which is high and wide of Edwin Van der Sar's goal
28mins
United have City pinned in their half and are enjoying large amounts of possession
26mins
Michael Carrick sends Tevez away and he runs at goal, but Micah Richards is up to the task and gets in a telling block in the box
25mins
The home side are yet to have a chance on goal and the Reds are dominating the game at the moment.
23mins
A delightful flick from Nani sets up Evra, but Schmeichel is quick off his line to put him off and he strikes his shot wide. Alex Ferguson's appeal for a penalty is turned down as he feels Evra was unfairly challenged by Corluka
21mins
Giggs slides a pass into the path of Tevez who races away, but Dunne's timely challenge on the edge of the box stops him in his tracks.
19mins
Scholes links up with Nani again, forcing a corner out of Corluka. From the resultant corner, City concede another which is taken by Ryan Giggs. He picks out Tevez, but Dunne is on hand to clear the danger
18mins
Hargreaves clashes with Blumer Elano and the striker leaves the field to receive treatment
16mins
Hargreaves, pressured by Geovanni and facing his own goal, does well to retain possession. This sparks United's best move of the game which ends with a low Nani strike forcing a fine save out of Schmeichel
14mins
Brown lunges in on Petrov for the second time, earning harsh words from Mark Clattenburg
13mins
A poor defensive header by Owen Hargreaves finds Deiberson Geovanni on the corner of the United penalty area, but his cross drifts out for a goal-kick
12mins
Nani beats Vedran Corluka but his delivery is poor, and the ball sails behind for a goal-kick.
11mins
Tevez sends Nani away on the wing and he takes on Richard Dunne, but he has no support and City deal with his cross with ease.
9mins
United are not giving City any time to settle and Nani is seeing a lot of the ball for the visitors on the left flank.
8mins
Eriksson is forced to make an early substitution. Valeri Bojinov hobbles off the field to receive treatment and is replaced by Emile Lokonda Mpenza
6mins
Worrying signs for Sven-Goran Eriksson early on, as Valeri Bojinov appears to be struggling with an injury
4mins
He gets away from his marker this time however, drifting inside from the left flank. He picks out Paul Scholes, who then finds Nani unmarked 10-yards from goal, but his side-footed shot is blocked by Kasper Schmeichel
4mins
Carlos Tevez, making his second start in United colours, is being marked very tightly
3mins
It has been a frantic start to the game and both sides are finding it hard to keep possession of the ball
1mins
Just moments into the game and Wes Brown puts in a hefty challenge on Martin Petrov
0mins
City have made their best ever start to a Premier league campaign, while the visitors have made their worst in nine years. The hosts will be hoping they will gain bragging rights after last season, when the Red Devils completed the double over them.
0mins
Referee Mark Clattenburg gets the 148th competitive derby underway and as expected, the atmosphere is electric inside Eastlands.
0mins
MAN CITY: Schmeichel, Garrido, Richards, Dunne, Corluka, Geovanni, Hamann, Johnson, Petrov, Bojinov, Elano. SUBS: Hart, Ball, Onuoha, Mpenza, Bianchi
0mins
MAN UTD: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Tevez. SUBS: Kuszczak, O'Shea, Silvestre, Eagles, Campbell
0mins
Kasper Schmeichel continues in goal for the hosts, against his father's former side. Blumer Elano shakes off a knock and is in the starting eleven for Sven-Goran Eriksson's new-look Manchester City
0mins
Owen Hargreaves makes his debut for Alex Ferguson's side, while Cristiano Ronaldo begins his three-match suspension. Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, Louis Saha and Anderson also miss out on the Manchester derby with injuries.
Match Preview
Sven-Goran Eriksson's first major test as Manchester City boss will be Sunday's Manchester derby at Eastlands.
The former England coach has already won over the majority of the sceptical Citizens fans who were under-whelmed by his appointment last month after guiding his new club to convincing victories in his first two games.
Eriksson's new look side kicked off the new Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory at West Ham last weekend, before inflicting a 1-0 defeat on Derby County at the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Teenager Michael Johnson finally ended City's 227-day scoring drought at Eastlands that had stretched back to New Year's Day with a superb 25-yard winner against the Rams.
However, despite the promising start to his tenure, the experienced Swede knows that the visit of the reigning league champions is an entirely different proposition.
Eriksson may have spent upwards of £35million on a raft of new players, including exciting attacking quartet Elano, Rolando Bianchi, Valeri Bojinov and Martin Petrov, but City have won only two of their last nine showdowns with their cross-city rivals.
However, what remains in their favour is the fact that the Citizens have a relatively solid record against the Red Devils on home soil where they have triumphed in two of the last four Premier League meetings.
On the injury front, Eriksson will once again be without Andreas Isaksson who is out with a broken finger which means Kasper Schmeichel will face the team at which his father Peter remains a legendary figure.
The opening days of Manchester United's title defence certainly haven't gone to plan as far as Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned.
The Red Devils remain without a win from their opening two games after following up their goalless draw with Reading last weekend with a 1-1 stalemate against Portsmouth on Wednesday.
The result sees United currently occupying 12th place in the Premier League table and in the unusual position of trailing City ahead of Sunday's derby showdown.
However, United suffered further blows in both games with Wayne Rooney fracturing a foot in the first that will sideline him for two months and Cristiano Ronaldo picking up a three-match ban in the second.
Last season's PFA Player of the Year was shown a straight red card after appearing to aim a head-butt at Portsmouth midfielder Richard Hughes at Fratton Park.
In terms of positives, Carlos Tevez made his long awaited debut in midweek as cover for the injured Rooney.
But captain Gary Neville will not be risked against City as he continues his comeback from a long-term ankle problem, while Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (both knee) remain sidelined.
Ferguson could decide to finally hand £17million summer signing Owen Hargreaves a debut in the heat of a local derby should he wish to add some tenacity to his midfield unit.
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Match Report
Manchester United's stumbling start to the season continued with a 1-0 defeat in the local derby at Manchester City.
Not since 1992-1993, the first year of the Premier League, have United failed to win in their first three league fixtures.
And what a contrast in the fortunes of City, who spent much of last season battling against relegation, as they sit proudly at the top of the table.
A goal from Brazilian Geovanni made it three wins out of three for Sven-Goran Eriksson's City who maintained their 100 per cent record.
And it is City who find themselves heading the table while the Red Devils are languishing in the bottom half of the standings.
With Wayne Rooney injured and Cristiano Ronaldo suspended United lacked a cutting edge, despite enjoying territorial advantage for long periods of the match.
New signing Owen Hargreaves was given his debut as United packed their midfield, with Carlos Tevez their lone frontman.
City, meanwhile, were without the unwell Stephen Ireland, while Valeri Bojinov was preferred up front to Rolando Bianchi.
Eriksson was forced into an early change when Bojinov was injured after only five minutes as he was replaced by Emile Mpenza.
United had the better of the early exchanges as Nani had two decent attempts at goal and the same player might have won a penalty after being clattered from behind by Vedran Corluka.
But it was City who stole the lead in the 32nd minute with a goal made in Brazil as Elano set up Geovanni, who scored with a drive from 25 yards, albeit with the aid of a deflection off defender Nemanja Vidic.
United were desperately unlucky not to draw level early in the second period when Vidic headed against the crossbar from a corner by Ryan Giggs.
In the final half hour United threw on Chris Eagles, John O'Shea and reserve striker Fraizer Campbell, the latter for his first-team debut, in a bid to salvage at least a point.
Eagles was desperately unlucky to score immediately after coming on when, sliding in at the far post, he narrowly failed to convert Giggs' low cross.
Try as they did, there was no way back for United despite sustained pressure on the City goal.
And it was great credit to City who were strong defensively and withstood the onslaught, with Micah Richards and Richard Dunne outstanding at the heart of their defence.
And at the final whistle former England manager Eriksson was left to savour a sweet victory against Sir Alex Ferguson in his first derby as Citizens boss.
Manchester City Team
Manchester United Team
Manchester City | Manchester United |
Corners
| 0 | 11 |
Fouls
| 8 | 12 |
Goal attempts
| 7 | 15 |
Shots off target
| 4 | 8 |
Offsides
| 2 | 5 |



90mins
With Van der Sar out of his goal, Petrov tries a shot from his own half but it lacks enough pace to beat the keeper.