Manchester City v Manchester United: the key battles won and lost at the Etihad With Chris Smalling alongside, it was not surprising that Ferdinand made it his business to pick up Agüero whenever he could. When the ball was played in, the United defender would try and slip around the side to nick the ball away. But such is the speed and quality of his movement, the Argentine striker is a nightmare to mark. Ferdinand tried to stay on his feet, especially in the box, and made an extremely important challenge in the first half. That said, Agüero would have scored on another day such were his openings. Ferdinand did well, though that will not make him feel any better. Yaya Touré v Paul Scholes To start off with, it had been a more conservative holding role for Touré but when Nigel de Jong came on after 68 minutes, replacing Carlos Tévez, the big Ivory Coast midfielder was released to boss the game majestically with those storming forward bursts. Few can compete with Touré under these circumstances, and certainly not a 37-year-old playmaker whose sublime skills never got a chance to shine for United in that ferocious middle ground. Touré won that battle hands down to make life comfortable for City in the second half. Vincent Kompany v Wayne Rooney This tussle began quite spicily with the pair clashing a few times. But when Kompany was booked unluckily for an honest challenge on Rooney, City's captain had to watch his step for the rest of the match. Mind you, that did not stop him climbing high to head home the winner. The moment typified his determined attitude. Kompany was fired up big time. So was Rooney but he grew increasingly frustrated as the match wore on, denied a sniff of goal by City's obdurate defence. Both of these players have enjoyed magnificent campaigns but only one could say they produced on the night.