Manchester Derby: City 2, United 3 Robin van Persie is unlikely to forget his first Manchester derby. Manchester United's Dutch striker scored with the game in injury time to give his club a 3-2 win and a six-point lead over its crosstown rival Manchester City in the standings of England's Premier League. With City playing at home at Etihad Stadium -- where it had not lost in the Premier League in two years -- holding the edge early, United flipped the game. United took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute on an interchange of delicate passes between Ashley Young (header) to Robin van Persie (chest), sending Young down the left side. He slide a pass to Wayne Rooney in the middle of the field for a right-footed shot that he did not strike well, but still rolled to the near post past Joe Hart. Video: Rooney opens scoring for Manchester United City suffered a blow on defense when the Belgian international Vincent Kompany left the game after 20 minutes because of an injury, replaced by Yaya Touré. With time running down in the match, Yaya Touré also left the match with an injury, replaced by Edin Dzeko, who has six goals this season largely as City's supersub. Kompany's exit seemed to make little difference when United midfielder Tom Cleverley stretched for a difficult pass and slipped it to Antonio Valencia on the right. He gave the ball to an overlapping Rafael whose cross went through the legs of the French defender Gaël Clichy. Rooney timed his run perfectly, waiting for Rafael to hit the ball before stepping into the cross, striking the ball with the side of his foot and spinning it past Hart again for his 150th goal in the Premier League. Video: Rooney scores 150th Premier League goal City Manager Roberto Mancini took a chance at the start by teaming Sergio Agüero and the talented but flighty Mario Balotelli up front. The experiment ended hastily in the 52nd minute when Mancini lifted Balotelli for Agüero's Argentine countryman Carlos Tévez. Balotelli did not stick around to discuss the substitution, heading straight for the City locker room, but emerging later to take his place with his teammates in those cushy chairs on the sideline. The match turned frenetic before the 60th minute when United's van Persie cut into the penalty area and hit a right-footed shot (yes, from his weaker foot) that smashed off the post behind Hart. Young put in the rebound but was ruled offside. Was he? Video: Toure pulls one back for Manchester City Seconds later City broke to the other end, with Tévez taking a close-in shot that was turned away by keeper David De Gea, with the rebound falling to David Silva for another shot, stopped by a reflex save by De Gea. But Yaya Touré took a short cross from Tévez to push the second rebound into the near corner. Game on! For the next 10-15 minutes or so, United had few scoring opportunities as City pressed to get back into the match. Then in the 79th minute, City's David Silva broke into the United penalty area, cut the ball back as Patrice Evra slid to the turf and blasted a shot that bounded off De Gea's shoulder for a corner. City's pressure was rewarded, erasing the 2-0 deficit in the 86th minute. Sami Nasri's corner kick appeared to glance off the head of van Persie, eventually finding an unmarked Pedro Zabaleta at the top of the penalty area. His right-footed half-volley, again to the near post, eluded De Gea. Video: Zabeleta equalizs late on for Manchester City Minutes later, Tévez, who had just taken a yellow card, took down Rafael outside the penalty area on the right, a perfect spot for van Persie to take a left-footed free kick. That he did, with the shot deflecting off the lifted left leg of Nasri in the three-man wall, spinning, bouncing and sailing past Hart into the net for his 11th league goal. As the United players celebrated, the match threatened to spiral out of control when and object thrown out of the stands hit United defender Rio Ferdinand just above his left eye, drawing blood. Video: Van Persie wins it for Manchester United "We were in control," van Persie told Sky Sports after the match. But City, City always comes back. The victory gave United a six-point lead in the Premier League standings with two games to go before Christmas Day. Should Tévez have started for City instead of Balotelli? Did he have the biggest impact on the match, coming on as a second half substitute? And did Tévez deserve a second yellow card and ejection late in the game for a petulant kick at a United player directly in front of United Manager Alex Ferguson? Did United only manage to escape with three points? Finally, who was your man of the match? Rooney? Tévez? Can City, or anyone, catch United? Highlight video courtesy of Fox Soccer