They are hard moments to take at the best of times, but with the quality of Rooney's goal came the horrible realisation: I am never going to escape it. Last season's goal from the time beyond time was similar - no matter how hard I tried, there was always a 'highlights of the season' montage where Michael Owen's detestable, shocked face jumped out the screen at me. And that goal was only remarkable for the circumstances. Rooney's bit of magic - variously the best goal of his career or the best goal ever scored at Old Trafford etc - came amidst a fairly anonymous performance, but at the top level, as this game undoubtedly is, these little bits of quality decide games and it is just unfortunate for City that it was at the other end.
It is difficult to offer any impartiality during the passions of the derby, so to quote The Independent's Ian Herbert "City were the better side, in fact, even if United's capacity never to know they are beaten won through." Although City will obviously be disappointed to let United extend their advantage at the top, the performance was encouraging. Both sides lined up in the same formation, but there wasn't really the defensive approach that has become the norm against the top sides this season. Statistics-wise, City created marginally more chances than the hosts, and a considerably greater amount if you take away wild long range efforts by Nani. The main difference was the final finish. Whilst Rooney plucked out a bit of brilliance from a quiet performance, our main goal-threat had a quiet contribution upfront too - there aren't too many obvious goal threats in the team when Tevez is limited (the next three highest goalscorers this season were unavailable: Balotelli, Johnson and Adebayor) - so whilst Silva was excellent again in the role of creator, that final finish eluded us.
It was a return to strength defensively and there were excellent performances from Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards. The general rule for a successful defensive partnership at City seems to be Kompany plus one - and Lescott has impressed in his last few appearances alongside the Belgian. I felt he was a little unlucky to lose his place to a returning Kolo last time, but it shows that the position as Kompany's partner is up for grabs.
Micah is continuing his improvement under Mancini and appeared to play with the confidence that was synonymous with his burst on to the footballing scene as a teenager. If he keeps up his concentration and his fitness, then this renaissance is very good news for both City and England.
The result will probably spell the end of vague title speculations in the press and this has to be a good thing for City's season. If City keep playing the way they have been, they can remain in touching distance - and this will probably be the best way to achieve the real target - Champions League football - and if that is achieved, we can start looking at the next steps.
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