A Wayne Rooney strike just before half time was enough to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over Manchester City. The visitors just about deserved the three points for the way they had dominated exchanges until the dismissal of Ronaldo on 68 minutes for deliberate handball and a second yellow card.

"Today the focus was very good," Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports News.

"In some away games this season our second-half performance has been disappointing. We threw the game away at Liverpool and threw three points away at Everton.

"Last week our game dropped against Aston Villa and I think that was down to focus and our focus was great today."

"We needed three points today. We are behind Liverpool and Chelsea. We are chasing them and we needed to win the game today to get ourselves near them.

"We have had a significant result today and I hope it makes a difference." When asked about Ronaldo's dismissal, the United chief said: "I have seen it again and I think he was trying to protect his face.

"He may have got a little shove. He thought he had heard a whistle but I am not going to talk about the referee. We could be here all day."