Football
Man Utd 2 - 1 Man City
Wayne Rooney's spectacular late winner put Manchester United's Premier League title assault back on course and left Manchester City devastated at Old Trafford.David Silva's deflected equaliser put Roberto Mancini's side in sight of a point after Nani's first-half goal gave United a slender advantage in a tight and tense encounter.
It was Rooney, however, who produced a moment of inspiration to score a stunning overhead kick that will live forever in the memory of United's fans and extended City's dismal sequence of only one league win in their last 27 visits to Old Trafford.
Silva's fortunate leveller, unwittingly deflecting in substitute Edin Dzeko's shot via his back, had given City momentum but they were stopped in their tracks in the most dramatic fashion with only 12 minutes left.
Nani's cross from the right flank was high and behind Rooney as he lurked near the penalty spot, but he elevated an indifferent personal display to the heights by readjusting his position and sending an acrobatic, unstoppable overhead kick high past startled City keeper Joe Hart.
The quality of the goal was worthy of winning any game and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may even look back on it as a strike that won the title after they bounced back from their first Premier League defeat of the season at Wolves last Saturday.
Rooney, superbly shackled by City defender Vincent Kompany for so long as Ferguson surprisingly left Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, had previously cut a forlorn and frustrated figure but his natural instincts continue to serve him and United so well.
And if his love affair with Old Trafford was strained by the saga of his demand to leave earlier this season, the bond was rekindled as United claimed a vital victory.
It enabled them to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points at the final whistle - and also inflicted a serious blow to City's own lingering hopes of mounting a challenge as they now stand eight points behind United having played a game more.
City were left to regret failing to make the most of some early supremacy when Silva squandered the perfect opportunity to strike a crucial blow early on in the second minute.
United boss Ferguson entrusted Rooney with a lone attacking role - and in the opening stages it was City who made all the running and should have taken the lead in the opening moments.
Silva, a significant influence as City dominated, exchanged passes with Carlos Tevez inside the area and was left with only Edwin van der Sar to beat. The angle was acute but the gifted Spaniard was wasteful as he rolled a tame finish across the face of goal and inches wide.
The hulking figure of Yaya Toure also cast a giant shadow over United's midfield as they struggled to assert any authority and he was frustrated when referee Andre Marriner ignored his penalty appeals when his cross struck Chris Smalling.
As United finally started to pose a threat, Darren Fletcher headed straight at City keeper Hart from Ryan Giggs' cross - and the seemingly ageless Old Trafford veteran was instrumental when they took the lead four minutes before the interval.
Rooney challenged for Van der Sar's clearance and Giggs pounced to deliver an inviting pass for Nani, who escape the attentions of Pablo Zabaleta to slide a composed finish past Hart.
City boss Mancini, who watched his team fail to capitalise on so much early possession, made a change early in the second half when he replaced Aleksandar Kolarov with Shaun Wright-Phillips.
And in an attempt to actually call Van der Sar into serious action, something City had failed to do, he then introduced Dzeko for James Milner.
The impact was exactly what City required as both substitutes were involved when they drew level after 65 minutes. Wright-Phillips' cross fell to Dzeko and his effort took a vital touch of Silva's back to wrong-foot Van der Sar.
Ferguson immediately introduced Berbatov for Anderson, but it was that moment of brilliance from Rooney that put them back in front and visibly deflated City.
City were stunned at being struck by such a blow and their threat fizzled out as Old Trafford buzzed with excitement at what had unfolded. United survived in comfort to close out a crucial victory.
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"I'm looking forward to the tournament and the dream is to see the West Indies come out on top. The World Cup is the pinnacle of a player's career and it is good to be part of the tournament here in the sub-continent," Gayle told reporters during the team's open media session.
"It can't get any bigger than this. The West Indies have a legacy of winning and I want to give my best to win matches for us," Gayle said.
"Whenever I cross that boundary rope I won't leave anything on the field. I'm going to give it my all, give it my best shot. I am looking to try and dominate the World Cup," Gayle said.
I am sure we have the team to get the job done for the people of the Caribbean. We have the fire power - the bowling combinations are good, and we have good all rounders and quality in our batting. I am here now and I will be trying to make the most of it and win one for the fans."
He announced: "This is my third World Cup. I played in South Africa in 2003 and in the Caribbean four years ago. I don't know what the future holds and I don't want to sit back and wait for the next World Cup in four years time. I am going to treat this like my final World Cup."
In his career the 31-year-old Gayle has played 223 One-Day Internationals. He is close to 8,000 career runs, having made 7,917 at an average of 39 per innings. He has scored 19 centuries - equal with Brian Lara for the most by a West Indian.
Looking ahead to the next six weeks Gayle noted: "It will be one game at a time but in the back of our minds we are looking at the quarter-finals and then take it from there. We will look to build strength from the early stages and develop as we move along. It won't be an easy task but it has to be done and we as players have to do it.
"The pitches in Asia are usual good to bat on. Most teams are playing a lot of T20 cricket nowadays so guys are learning much better how to execute - especially in the powerplay overs. Ultimately we will have to just wait and see what happens, and as I said before, the team which does the better job on the day will win."
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