That easily could have been a penalty.
Typical United

Clear foul on murphy in the box. A referee in a "bottle a decision that would go against man united" shock horror, once again

Goal was rubbish.
United are a ruthless team but, of the the top teams in Europe, are the most bereft of flair. Since losing Tevez and Cristiano they lack beauty. It's just pass, run, pass, score. It's a well-coached machine and little else.

This season they're not one of the top teams in Europe though are they?
They got humiliated in both the CL and Europa League.

They're just effective flat track bullies. Think city will finish above them mind

Might get a bit more dodgy for them if Rio is out for any length of time.

No way, Dules. City have already blown their chance with all the dropped points in the last month or so.

United will finish off the job at hand. And, yes, they're one of Europe's top teams. They're 1st in one of the top 2 leagues in Europe. I really fear Ferguson. To steer this team that lacks imagination, is devoid of defenders and has a glaring hole in midfield to the top in England is no mean feat. Of course, it helps when Abramovich and Hill-Wood are captaining shipwrecks

Ferguson has a lot of quality and experience to pick from, don't worry about that.

Claudius wrote:

United will finish off the job at hand. And, yes, they're one of Europe's top teams. They're 1st in one of the top 2 leagues in Europe. I really fear Ferguson. To steer this team that lacks imagination, is devoid of defenders and has a glaring hole in midfield to the top in England is no mean feat. Of course, it helps when Abramovich and Hill-Wood are captaining shipwrecks

Nah, ManU have most teams beat before they step on the pitch and they experience home team advantage at practically every ground in the country. Fergie is undoubtedly a great manager but I wouldn't give him too much credit for this season.

He has lots of good players as well though.

When you look at the options they have out wide and up front; Nani, Young, Valencia, Park Ji-Sung, Giggs, Berbatov, Rooney, Hernandez, Welbeck - that's comfortably over 100 million pound's worth of attacking talent.

Nothing amazing there other than Rooney, but so many good, solid, experienced footballers.

Ricky, his attacking options are mind-boggling, but further back, the team is not that impressive. I'd always take their forwards, but I'd take our midfielders and goalies. Defenders are a tie. They are just much more effective as a team, especially when they get in that final 3rd. Valencia has been immense this season. Last season it was Hernandez and Nani. We need a player of that level in there to help van Persie and take the pressure of Walcott et al.

It's not about having a player like Valencia - he's no more than a good player - it's about having 4 or 5 like him to pick from over the course of a long, hard season.

Fergie doesn't have it bad further back either, does he? A £20M goalkeeper, Ferdinand, Evans, Jones, Smalling, Evra, the Brazilian twins, Carrick, Anderson, Cleverly, Scholes - again, there are few in the way of amazing players, but lots and lots of good, solid, experienced players - that's what wins you League titles.

They're not better than we are man for man, IMO. Just better coached, and hence a more effective unit. Especially defensively.

Don't kid yourselves. United are better up front and better in defence, and their squad options are more experienced and reliable than ours have been. Added to that, the culture of that club gives them an advantage going into big games. The coaching is fantastic but not unique, certainly not this season where they've been quite poor tactically, it's the mentality that sets them apart. The last 7 weeks have shown what the right mentality and confidence can do for a team, everything else being equal, and United have that in them all season.

*and until Rosicky found form, our midfield were not significantly stronger either.

United play in a different way to us, their midfield isn't half as important to winning games. Not with the way teams set-up in the Premier League and the lower standard they face most weeks. It's a different story against good European teams - or even poor European teams - but that's another issue.

They have experience and medals coming out of the eyeballs, right through the team and the squad. Look what a few big wins have done for the confidence of our team, now imagine us after winning a League title or the Champions League.