Manchester City opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a convincing victory over rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
To make matters worse for hosts United, they had to play the majority of the second half with ten men following the dismissal of Jonny Evans for a foul on Mario Balotelli.
The young Italian striker would prove to be the thorn in United's side from the moment he broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute. James Milner found Balotelli on the edge of the area and the 21-year-old steered a low effort beyond David de Gea.
In response champions United were reduced to efforts from distance, with both Anderson and Wayne Rooney forcing routine saves from Joe Hart.
Any chances United had of clawing their way back into the match were dealt a severe blow just after the restart when Evans hauled down Balotelli on the edge of the area. The Northern Ireland defender was the last-man a referee Mark Clattenburg had little option but to brandish a red card.
It didn't take Roberto Mancini's City long to make the numerical advantage count. It was that man Balotelli who did the damage again, tapping in James Milner's drilled cross from close range on the hour mark.
Just nine minutes later Sergio Aguero, largely quiet up until that point, scored an almost carbon copy of Balotelli's second when he turned in Micah Richard's square ball.
The ten men rallied late in the match and reduced the arrears in the 80th minute through Darren Fletcher. The Scotland skipper exchanged passes with Javier Hernandez before curling the ball into the top right hand corner of the net.
However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished one minute from time when substitute Edin Dzeko turned in Joleen Lescott's cut-back from one yard out.
City were not done there though, with David Silva racing through in stoppage time to send the ball underneath the body of De Gea from six yards out.
There was still time for Dzeko to get his name on the score-sheet once again, with the Bosnian running onto Silva's pass before slotting past De Gea.
Liam Apicella
