Moyes: Derby could be crucial
David Moyes says United are in confident mood ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby, a match that he feels will influence the Barclays Premier League title race.
The Reds head to the Etihad Stadium on the back of two impressive wins against Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen, a couple of results that also saw strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie return to scoring ways in clinical fashion.
As a result, Moyes is optimistic about facing City, who drew 0-0 with Stoke City last time out. The boss is also well aware of what a local derby means to fans, having played for Celtic against Rangers and most recently managed Everton against Liverpool.
“We’ve played well in the last few games and have got a bit of confidence and hopefully we’ll try and show that in the game on Sunday,” the boss told reporters on Friday.
“There is an excitement for any derbies in any big city in the world. They’re all really important to your own supporters. They’re important to the players as well but ultimately it’s about what happens come the end of the season and how many points you get together to see who is top. These points could be really important towards that, they may not be. We’ll go and we’ll try and take all the points.
“I’ve experienced derby games in Glasgow and on Merseyside. But as I said every derby in every big city is important to whichever team you support and I understand how important it is for the Manchester United fans.”
Sunday’s derby will also see two new managers – Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini - patrolling the dugouts following the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson and dismissal of Roberto Mancini in the summer, adding extra spice to an already potent cocktail.
Of course, the pair have done battle before in 2005 when Everton lost to Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League third round, a match that was shrouded in controversy after Pierluigi Collina disallowed Duncan Ferguson's late header for an apparent infringement.
When quizzed on that match during Friday’s press conference at the Aon Training Complex, the boss was quick to praise the Spanish club that went on to enjoy much success that season, though he did concede the result should perhaps not have stood.
“Villarreal had a really good team in 2005,” he explained. “They got to the semi-final that year, so for us to run them close gave you an idea what a good side we had at Everton. It did rankle because we thought we scored a legitimate goal in extra time.”
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