Gary Neville’s take on the Manchester derby stalemate may differ with yours

One for the purists, or so we often say as two sides neutralise each other towards a stalemate.

Where many supporters of Manchester United and City were not too enamoured with their sides' cagey 0-0 draw, on Sunday, Gary Neville lapped it up. United failed to register a shot on, or off, target for the first time since Opta began recording match stats [1996] while City rarely troubled David de Gea up the other end. The hosts played Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Scwheinsteiger as their defensive screen, at Old Trafford, while City went with Fernandinho and Fernando to protect their back four. Fans at the Theatre of Dreams would have been forgiven for drifting off midway through a match with more prods than pokes. However, in his Daily Telegraph column, today, Neville is enthused. He writes: