Former Manchester United player Carlos Tevez scored twice as Man City took a 2-1 advantage into the Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Old Trafford next week.
United had taken the lead in the first half from a Ryan Giggs tap-in but the game changed right before half time when ref Mike Dean penalized Rafael da Silva for a foul outside the box on Craig Bellamy and awarded City a penalty which Tevez smashed into the roof of the net.
Tevez added a second after Wes Brown and Jonny Evans both went to close down Vincent Kompany and failed, meaning the former West Ham star was on his own as the Belgian hooked the ball back into the six-yard area.
Man City boss Roberto Mancini was obviously happy with the win saying:
“It is not a big advantage, but it is an advantage,” said Mancini.”I am happy with the result because we were behind after 20 minutes and I felt it could be difficult. But we recovered, scored two goals and played well. They had three or four chances but, in Shay Given, we have one of the best goalkeepers. Now I would say we have a 51% chance.”
Shay Given was in inspired form and made some terrific saves to jeep at bay a Man United side that was the better team on the night. It was this United performance that impressed boss Alex Ferguson:
“We played well and dominated the match. We were reasonably in control but we had a mad five minutes before half-time that brought them back into the game .Everyone can see the penalty for themselves. It is the kind of decision that has gone against us tonight but could go for us on another day. But with the crowd at Old Trafford and the occasion and what is at stake we will be okay.”
photo credit: Dreamstime