Game of the year

Rachel Griffiths selects her best match from the past 12 months and plumps for a derby demolition.

Manchester City might be a team on the rise this season, but not many could have been expecting what unfolded when Roberto Mancini's men made the short trip to neighbours Manchester United on October 23rd. I certainly wasn't when I sat down to cover the glamour tie at the office on what had, up to that point, been a sleepy Sunday at skysports.com HQ. But fears we were in for a repeat of the tedious goalless draw between the two sides at City just under 12 months before could not have been further off the mark. As far as derby showdowns go, City's 6-1 annihilation of their local rivals was up there with the best of them as they combined possession, creativity and intelligence to wreak havoc at Old Trafford. The heaviest defeat of Sir Alex Ferguson's career was largely inspired by arguably Mario Balotelli's finest performance in a City shirt to date as the controversial youngster proved a constant torment to the home defence, earning a delicious double for his efforts. But it was Spanish kingpin David Silva that masterminded the demolition; assisting on Edin Dzeko's second goal, picking out James Milner with a sublime pass which led to Balotelli's second, while also scoring himself in the dying minutes to cap a dazzling individual display. The clash always had the makings of a blockbuster - with the city rivals tussling for dominance at the top of the Premier League and both unbeaten at that point in the season. Balotelli, who had run out at the Theatre of Dreams less than 36 hours after allegedly setting fire to his mansion by letting off fireworks in the bathroom, got things rolling in the 22nd minute when he teamed up with Silva and Milner to beat United goalkeeper David De Gea with a low drive from 18 yards. That strike ultimately sparked the Red Devils' collapse and it was pictures of the eccentric young Italian, revealing a vest emblazoned with 'Why Always Me?' beneath his City shirt in a unique celebration, that adorned the back pages the next day. His second, the product of Silva's pinpoint pass to Milner, well and truly put the wheels in motion for City following Jonny Evans' sending-off and when Sergio Aguero slid home from six yards in the 69th minute United were probably already praying for the final whistle. The humiliation did not stop there, with City responding to a late Darren Fletcher consolation by piling on three more of their own in stoppage time, with super sub Edin Dzeko netting either side of Silva's strike to seal the emphatic scoreline. In terms of tension, drama and entertainment the Old Trafford derby ticked all the boxes and it will not just be City fans that remember it for years to come.