The Mancunian derby tonight pitches 1 and 2 in the Barclays Premier League against each other. Manchester United hold a 15 point lead over their 'Noisy Neighbors' from across town and the title looks to be heading to Old Trafford for a 20th time. Looking at the stats for the teams provides a fair reflection of their season so far.
Along with Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City are the only 3 teams to have not lost a game in which they have taken the lead. It goes to show that both sides have been good front-runners and seldom relinquish a position of strength. But, the problem for City has been the high number of draws that they have racked up. The Sky Blues have drawn 8 games accounting for 16 dropped points, perhaps the biggest difference between the 2 teams. United in contrast have only drawn 2 and also one fewer game in the Loss column with 3 in comparison to City's 4.
Last year, City's title winning campaign had a lot to do with how tight their defence was marshaled by the excellent Vincent Kompany. They had the best defence last year and are once again the best this year with 14 clean sheets and have conceded just 26 goals. The problem though for them has been scoring goals and the drop in production from their main striker Sergio Aguero has been one of the reasons. The Argentine who scored the decisive game winning goal into injury time on the last day to clinch the title for City is averaging a goal every 178 minutes. The corresponding figure for last year was 113 minutes, which translates to a goal every 2 hours; that's pretty much a goal a game at the very least. Add to that Mario Balotelli's lackluster season which saw him being sold and lesser goals from key midfielders David Silva and Yaya Toure and you can see why City have had trouble finding the back of the net. So while their 1st in goals conceded, their goals tally of 55 is only 5th best in the league.
United meanwhile have the 2nd in defence and 1st in attack, a nice 1-2 combo to have. In the early part of the season the Red Devils were very, very shaky at the back and were conceding goals almost every game. That they managed to win more games than lose in that period was down to their attacking prowess that got them out of jail many a time. It would have been impossible for them to sustain their title challenge at that rate and Sir Alex Ferguson, aware of the problem at hand has got that back-line working a lot more efficiently since. They have the second best defence having conceded only 31 goals and also 11 clean sheets, another department where they have been bettered only by their neighbors. They are top dogs in scoring with 70 goals which translates to a goal difference of +39 a +10 differential over 2nd placed City.
Robin Van Persie's blistering start to the season was instrumental in propelling United in that early period where they struggled defensively. But, the Dutchman has hit a lean patch and has drawn blanks in his last 9 competitive appearances for Man United. This despite being on the field for 549 minutes in that stretch, close to 70% of the total playing time and no less than 24 shots on goal. Perhaps, it is no coincidence that his drop in form has been accompanied with United getting dumped out of the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup. Van Persie did have some really good chances that he failed to put away against both Real Madrid in the Champions League as well as Chelsea in the FA Cup.
Manchester United have scored the most goals in the opening half hour with 27 out of their 70 coming in the first 30 minutes of play. One thing that Ferguson would have stressed on after losing out on goal difference last year would have been to score as many as possible. The purchase of Van Persie came about with that in mind and the early goal has been a feature of their play. It puts the opponent on the back-foot and forces them to come at United. Inviting the opposition onto them works in their favor as they can then pick them out making use of the available spaces. City are at the other end of the spectrum having scored the most goals (28) in the last half hour of the game. Roberto Mancini's men many times this season have been forced to come from behind and have had to chase the game. This stat reinforces that theme to a good extent. Even in their last meeting against United at the Etihad, they had to fight out of a 0-2 hole.
Finally, perhaps in true testament to vintage United sides of old, the 2012-13 crop have salvaged 27 points from losing situations. Everton have been the second best team here.
The arrival of Van Persie at Old Trafford coupled with the the injury ridden struggles of Aguero and Kompany have been decisive in determining the destination of the Premier League title. Mancini and City would have also have to take some flak for not bringing in adequate personnel in key areas to support the likes of Silva and Toure. Ferguson has also displayed better tactical acumen and has managed to get the best out of his squad with smart player rotations allowing for rest to key cogs.
And that's where the title was won and lost !!!
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