Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City - Even derby ends all square

An unspectacular Manchester derby ended goalless on Sunday. United just about shaded proceedings at Old Trafford, though struggled to convert their possession into chances.

The first half was an extremely evenly balanced affair, with goalscoring opportunities at a premium. United looked tidy in possession but the final ball was missing, and by the halftime whistle they'd failed to record a single shot on Joe Hart's goal. It wasn't that they Louis van Gaal's men were playing especially badly, but City's defence held firm.

Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini's side were content to pack men behind the ball and play on the counter-attack, though United's last line of defence looked pleasingly strong; Marcos Rojo was particularly impressive, barely giving Kevin De Bruyne a sniff. Even City's best chance of the half wasn't a particularly good one, coming when Yaya Touré burst forward to whiff a low cross over David De Gea's bar a couple of minutes before the interval.

The second half picked up where the first had left off, with United stroking the ball around in front of a wall of sky blue shirts. The passing was more purposeful than much of what we've seen under Van Gaal and it almost bore fruit five minutes after the restart, though Chris Smalling headed a corner back across the face of goal and just wide. The Reds continued to dominate and City dropped ever deeper, but still the goal wouldn't come.

Van Gaal threw on Jesse Lingard and Marouane Fellaini in the hope of shaking things up, though losing the technical dexterity of Juan Mata and Bastian Schweinsteiger only loosened United's grip on the game. That didn't stop the youngster hitting the bar with just over five minutes left, before Smalling drew a good save from Hart, but United couldn't find a decisive finish.