Cross Town Rivals: City vs United

After an uninspiring 2-0 blanking of FC Galati at Old Trafford, Manchester United hoped to erase the memories of a previous 6-1 blasting at the hands of cross-town rival Manchester City. While Manchester City has lived in the shadows of their seemingly larger than life older brother Manchester United, City broke out in a big way against a slipping team and managed to continually attack against a team with a man down, ending with the most goals Man City had ever scored in Old Trafford since their 5-0 victory 56 years ago (news.bbc.co.uk). Coming with this loss was the glaring absence of ability in the midfield of Manchester United, an area of concern for faithful followers coming into the season. While it is not only bad that Manchester lost to their cross town rival, the loss also brings with it glaring similarities to Manchester United's own game with Arsenal back in August. In just the beginning of Premier League competition, Manchester romped Arsenal by a score of 8-2. Following this extreme loss and a 2-0 blanking by Liverpool the previous game, Arsenal still has had trouble regaining its composure, consistency and ability. Such a lopsided loss can really have a lasting effect on a team's attitude and performance, something that Sir Alex Ferguson should be vigilant for and look to overcome. It is imperative for him to keep the team's focus on overcoming Manchester City's five point Premier League lead and not dwelling back on a previous loss like this, something that Arsenal may have showed is a poor strategy in competition.. While it's obvious Manchester City can outspend their rivals, Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United must remain focused on capturing their traditional style of attacking and attempting to turn their season in a more positive direction after their 6-1 loss to Manchester City.