Before we get to the team news, a note to Robert Duvall – no penalty shootouts today, boss.

In team news, Mario Balotelli starts ahead of both Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko for City. Big day for the Italian, who scored against Alex Ferguson’s men last season (before revealing that ‘Why Always Me?’ slogan on his t-shirt).

David de Gea starts in goal for United – Anders Lindegaard’s wife has gone into labour – while Rafael stays at right-back despite being taken off early against Reading. Tom Cleverley and Antonio Valencia have both overcome injury to start.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Silva, Toure, Barry, Nasri, Aguero, Balotelli
Subs: Pantilimon, Maicon, Lescott, Dzeko, Javi Garcia, Toure, Tevez

Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Young, Rooney, van Persie
Subs: Johnstone, Jones, Giggs, Smalling, Hernandez, Welbeck, Scholes

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Not much to report in the first two minutes. Silva and Nasri have a nice couple of touches and the Spaniard draws a foul from Wayne Rooney, who tests Martin Atkinson by going on to foul Yaya Touré.

It’s ok Wayne, they know you’re there.

No booking for the United striker. Yet.

De Gea gets down low to save a long range free-kick from Balotelli – it was going wide anyway. Corner now, and United clear the ball.

City have the better of the early exchanges, United have barely been outside of their own half.

Chance! Clichy is found by a delightful ball by Silva, gets to the by-line and crosses for Balotelli. The Italian ghosted in behind the sleeping Patrice Evra but his volley has far too much fresh air under it.

On the touchline, Fergie is already getting lippy with the fourth official.

Balotelli scythes through Evans and the defender seems hurt. When the roles were reversed last season, Evans was sent off, but no booking for Mario.

Evans comes back on, Chris Smalling puts his tracksuit top back on.

Goal!!! Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United

Robin van Persie finds Ashley Young in loads of space and the winger’s pass is collected by Rooney. The United striker is given far too much space by Clichy and scuffs his shot under the feet of Gareth Barry. The ball squeezes inside Joe Hart’s right-hand post, he had no chance.

That came completely against the run of play – only moments earlier, Sergio Aguero JUST failed to collect a pass from Balotelli in a dangerous area.

A crude, yet apt, description of that goal.

Substitution for City: Vincent Kompany is forced off, Kolo Touré comes on.

The Belgian has a face made of ire as he trudges off with a groin problem, with just 20 minutes gone.

Chance! Aguero takes on the United defence and midfield, blustering his way through four or five challenges, but his shot is weak in the end and De Gea saves easily.

Twitter seems in agreement that City are in disarray – Mancini is furious at Balotelli, Tevez is furious at Mancini, Kompany is furious at himself and Fergie is reading a nice book on the United bench.

Wayne Rooney scores again… It’s Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United!

Rafael crosses and Rooney strikes first time to beat Joe Hart. Clinical finish from the 27-year-old, while the City defence is paying the price for losing Vincent Kompany.

Valencia crosses from the right and Rooney – on a hat-trick – misses the ball completely. Cleverley follows up but blasts over the bar.

Incidentally, the last man to score a hat-trick in the derby was Andrei Kanchelskis, for United, in 1994.

Wayne Rooney has now scored more goals in Manchester derbies than any other player. He has ten.

Back on the pitch, United look very comfortable. City are playing far too narrow, allowing United space on the wings to get forward almost at will.

Balotelli, up front, is cussing and stomping around, his blood all angried up.

Gareth Barry, who hasn’t scored for City for over 15 months, tries to place one in the corner of De Gea’s net from 20 yards when he would have been better off giving it the big toe.

Next, Ferdinand ‘eases out’ Sergio Aguero and Martin Atkinson is having none of the crowd’s chants for a penalty. Because it wasn’t a penalty.

There are empty seats all over the stadium – wonder if people have already left or if the match simply couldn’t sell out?

Anyway, that’s half-time and City need to improve dramatically if they’re to protect their unbeaten start to the season.

City were actually on top until Rooney opened the scoring, but after that – and Kompany’s injury – it’s been all United and they deserve their two-goal lead. Back for the second half shortly.

The teams are coming back for the second half.

Mario Balotelli is walking back out, surprisingly enough. He has the gait of a man who does not give a…

It’s won’t be too long before we see Edin Dzeko.

Chris Smalling is about to come on for Jonny Evans. Evans has been struggling since a first half challenge by Balotelli – surprised he’s stayed on this long.

Balotelli tries a backheel and Mancini is incensed. He immediately motions to Tevez to get himself ready to come on.

We’re seconds away from a Mario hissy-fit special…

United attack, Cleverley lashes the ball over the bar and the ball finally goes dead.

Balotelli goes off, storms down the tunnel, what a complete child.

Tevez is his replacement – he should have started.

Aguero is doing his best to get City back into this. He collects a Clichy crossfield pass first time and tries to bend one into the top corner, but misses.

In the next wave, Nasri tries to bend a cross into the path of Aguero but Ferdinand gets a decisive touch on the ball and it goes out. Excellent defending by the United player.

The ball is in the back of the net and that, of course, means that it’s not a goal for United.

Van Persie twists and turns and lashes the ball against the crossbar. Young follows up but it’s offside…

Then…

Manchester City pull one back!

The home side pile forward after the disallowed United goal and De Gea is forced into a magnificent double save from Silva and Tevez. Tevez manages to collect the ball and feed it to Yaya Touré, who fires home.

The introduction of Tevez has made all the difference.

The feeling among United fans is that Young’s goal should have stood.

Surprising, that.

City have just got away with it! Evra and Kolo Touré tangle in the box and the United full-back goes down. Replays show that Evra was fouled.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand is booked for dissent, presumably.

Chance! Aguero feeds the ball through to Tevez but the former United player is bustled wide and off the ball. Mancini is screaming at him, telling him he should have gone down, according to Gary Neville.

Neville “doesn’t speak Italian, but knows Italian culture.” We’re really not sure what to do with that.

Yaya Touré is furious!

The Ivory Coast midfielder storms his way through two United challenges, the latter by Rooney, and has acres of space in front of him.

Martin Atkinson calls play back, however, when he really should have played advantage. The referee books Rooney.

Yaya Touré goes down injured while Mancini has a word with Matija Nastasic. It looks like Touré is ok to continue.

Tom Cruise-watch: He’s gone to the jacks, hopefully with some cheat notes taped to the inside of the cubicle door.

Rooney to Cleverley to the head of van Persie to over the bar.

Chance for City!

Nasri plays in Silva, who sells the dummy to Evra before lashing a shot against the frame of the goal. The ball was deflected and a corner is awarded. The danger passes.

Here comes Edin Dzeko – if Mancini has any balls, he’ll take Kolo Touré off. Or Joe Hart.

Tevez volleys over the bar from a Nasri cross. The striker is in front of the ball so getting it on target was always going to be tough.

Dzeko replaces Yaya Touré, who hasn’t looked happy since going down five or ten minutes ago.

Substitution for United too – Antonio Valencia has a problem and Phil Jones comes on.

City have equalised!

From a corner the ball finds its way to Pablo Zabaleta, who gets his head down and lashes the ball past David de Gea in the Manchester United goal. City have deserved that – they’ve dominated the second half, Young’s disallowed goal aside, and have been much improved since the introduction of Tevez for the appalling Balotelli.

Danny Welbeck comes on for United, replacing Cleverley.

Aguero backheels the ball into the path of Silva but there’s no real power in the shot.

We have four minutes of stoppage time to come, as now Tevez shoots from distance, set up by Aguero.

Aguero = man of the match = unequivocally.

United lead again!

Gael Clichy concedes a free-kick for a foul on Welbeck and Robin van Persie and Rooney stand over it.

The Dutchman curls his effort into the corner of Hart’s net via a heavy deflection from Samir Nasri.

Whew!

Rio Ferdinand has a bloodied eye – it’s looking like a confrontation with a fan in the aftermath of the goal.

City are losing their tempers and Barry is booked for a foul on Rooney.

Robin van Persie has won it for United in his first Manchester derby. A controversial end to the game after Rio Ferdinand is, seemingly, struck by something thrown from the crowd.

Wayne Rooney’s brace had given United a 2-0 lead in the first half, before City hit back with strikes from Yaya Touré and Pablo Zabaleta.

It looked like a draw, even though City had much the better of the second half, but van Persie stepped up when it mattered.

Thanks for keeping up, hope you enjoyed it and we’ll be back shortly for the action from Upton Park…