Is it worth beating Man Utd?

The results of this season continue to be on par for a typical Manchester City side. The year started out well, with three straight victories, including one at home of over their crimson clad neighbors - Manchester United. However, beating United may come at a greater price than it is worth.

Switching focus to the red rivals for only a moment, United has only suffered defeat at the hands of three Premiership teams this season loosing both contests with Manchester City and then dropping results against West Ham and Bolton.

It's a euphoric feeling to beat a team like United, except for every one of those teams suffered the consequences in their next league match. Not a single team followed up their victory over United with as much as a draw this season.

City were the first to topple the Devils back in August. Their 1-0 victory at home over their crosstown rivals was followed by a pair of 1-0 losses on the road to Arsenal and Blackburn.

While those of us in America were getting filled with turkey and relaxing over the Thanksgiving Holiday, Nicolas Anelka gave Bolton all they needed for their 1-0 win over United. Bolton's pride only lasted long enough to get smoked by four unanswered goals from Liverpool the following week.

Just before the New Year holiday the Hammers earned a full three points from ManU, only to hand the points over to Arsenal on New Years Day.

The biggest fallout came to City after their surprising win at Old Trafford last month. The win sank the blues into a funk of a fearful sort. The usual one-match lull that has infected everyone following a win over United came in the form of a 2-0 loss at the ends of Everton. City then tied Wigan at home and then fell to Reading by a pair to nil.

Loosing to Everton can be accepted, but teams in the bottom half of the table should be sure points. The Blues were able to take one step closer at righting the ship this past weekend by storming back from one goal down to overtake Tottenham for a valuable three points.

The timing couldn't have been better as Blackburn fell to West Ham, providing City with an advancement in the standings. The Blues are so close to qualifying for Europe that it will be disappointing when they don't make it, especially with the way the season started.