City 0 - 0 United

• Well that was certainly better than losing in stoppage time. It was a fairly dour game, with only one or two goal-scoring chances at either end. We looked for a 0-0 and we got it. United played nicer football than we did but we're a good enough defensive unit that when we want a clean sheet at home we can usually get one. Some people might criticise Roberto Mancini for being so cautious, but I'm fairly relaxed about it. After the events of the past year or so there are worse things than being very averse to losing derbies.

• The plan was the same as the Chelsea match. If possible, dominate possession, if not, stifle the opponents and at all costs keep a clean sheet. Then, where possible, breaking through David Silva and Carlos Tévez. It was harder than the Chelsea game: United were much better in midfield. They effectively had Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung in central midfield, outnumbering us, with Scholes and Carrick seeing a lot of the ball. But in terms of goalscoring chances there was one for Patrice Evra in the first half, one for Dimitar Berbatov in the second half and that was it. Our second consecutive clean sheet, I think we're over our brief defensive blip.

• The second half of the plan - nicking a goal - was harder. In truth, we didn't create a single proper goal-scoring opportunity. With United dominating the midfield, we found some space in wide areas. But with only Tévez up front there was only so much that could come from James Milner and David Silva's crossing. Too many times we swung crosses in and they were repelled by Nemanja Vidic. We won eight corners, and with Vincent Kompany, Jérôme Boateng and both Tourés in the box we ought to have done better with them - but our delivery was never quite there.

• There were moments when Yaya Touré or Carlos Tévez nearly broke through the middle but United defended too well to gift us the spaces we needed. I'm not entirely sure Carlitos was 100% fit, but this was a further illustration that when he isn't on top of his game we struggle to create chances. Was there anything Mancini could have done differently? Put on Emmauel Adebayor, maybe, for more of an aerial threat. But for whom? We could barely have afforded to lose another man in the middle. Adam Johnson from the start, and risking United full-backs running rampant. Containing United is difficult, and necessitates trade-offs from other areas of the side. I can't say I'm too upset with his decisions.

• Ultimately, I don't think Mancini's decision today - that not losing was the most important thing - was far wrong. After five straight league derby defeats, three stoppage time derby defeats last season, a run of three defeats that only ended last Sunday, it cannot be underestimated how damaging another defeat would be. Yes, in times gone by, we could go for United, knowing that the difference between no points and three would not make a major difference in a season that would see us finish somewhere in mid-table. But this season is different. We need to be fourth, and we need to be clear-headed about achieving that. This is the game we're in.