Hart was carried off on a stretcher, with City having already lost Raheem Sterling to injury.
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The home side threatened to bounce back with Sergio Aguero hitting the post, Jesus Navas firing narrowly wide, and Wilfred Bony failing to convert Yaya Ture’s pass.
Pellegrini has just eight more Premier League games in charge before handing over the reins to Pep Guardiola, but if his players continue to perform as dismally as they did against United, Heaven knows what the Bayern Munich coach will inherit when he arrives at the Etihad Stadium in June.
Louis van Gaal’s team are now just one point behind stuttering rivals City in the table and have genuine hopes of ending a disappointing season with a place in next season’s Champions League.
After the break, City applied pressure on United, who defended well and looked risky on the counter-attack.
Demichelis continued to struggle against the likes of Rashford and Anthony Martial until he was subbed off in the second half.
City’s fourth defeat in six league games, and ninth in total, left them 15 points behind leaders Leicester City and they now have both United and West Ham United on their tail.
“It was good to make my first start in a derby”.
“I don’t think I lose any control”, he said.
“In the second half we had some good minutes but at the end, as we expected, City pushed hard trying to level the score”.
Michael Carrick says Manchester United’s derby victory over Manchester City was about far more than three points in the context of their season.
On team spirit and the rest of the season “When I see the dressing room I think it [this result] shall give a boost and real belief”.
“You have seen, for example, their result at Southampton – half-time 0-2, final time 3-2”.
Mamadou Sakho of Liverpool shows his appreciation to the fans at the end of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16: Second Leg match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on March 17, 2016 in Manchester, England.
“I’m very happy with the collective performance”, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
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Manchester United star Juan Mata has warned against expecting too much too soon for new striking sensation Marcus Rashford, after pointing out that he is still an 18-year-old talent “in the making”.
