The players speak

They all loved it, naturally. Pablo Zabaleta:

"Carlos was fired up because of what was said. United fans know he was a big loss because he was a great player for them. He can repeat this in the second game. Every team wants Carlos Tevez, and we have a great opportunity to enjoy him at this club. I am sure that Carlos will try to take Manchester City right to the top.

Vincent Kompany:

We got the result we wanted, and before the game I had called for some extra support from the fans for tonight and they were terrific. Even when we have gone behind against the best teams, at home they have really made a difference...

He adds, “If you’re not going to be confident after a result like this, when are you going to be? It’s the perfect situation, I believe we can score again as well and that’s a big difference for us.”

SWP:

“It was a very satisfying win,” declared Wright-Phillips. “The players showed great character to come from a goal down.

The fans drove us on and on and in the end it all came good. To hold on to the win was terrific but we know there is still a job to do at Old Trafford.

“What we have to do is savour this tonight and then put it aside, we have a game on Sunday night that we have to win and we will be back in training for that match tomorrow morning. Preparation is everything.”

Gareth Barry:

He continued: "We knew, as individuals, we were all going to have to dig deep. Shay has performed well as well so we're delighted with the tie.

"It's still in the balance, it's half-time obviously, and we expect a tough game at Old Trafford. They're going to push on and give all they can, and we're going to expect a battle again."

On the derby atmosphere, Barry added: "It's my first one here and the noise was tremendous at times and hopefully we can give them something to shout about in the second game."