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ALL logic tells you Ryan Giggs should not have been playing in this match.
Yes, men can, of course, still play professional football at 35.
But at the speed and intensity Giggs did yesterday? For the biggest club in the world? In the weekend's most watched match on the planet?
And not just play in it. Dominate the second half and win it. Not with a goal but with an unerring vision, energy and quality.
At a rough estimate, there was probably £400million worth of talent on the Old Trafford pitch. Yet it was a man snatched from City at youth level for nothing, and groomed to become a teenage star, who shone above the rest in his footballing twilight.
To put it in perspective, the man asked to handle Giggs down the flank yesterday was just two years old when the Welsh wing wizard made his Manchester United debut.
Micah Richards was left looking like a soccer toddler, as he and the rest of the Manchester City defence were bamboozled by Giggs' runs and delivery of the ball.
He put centres on Darren Fletcher's head to make it 2-1 and 3-2 for United. Time and again, he swung the ball in to Dimitar Berbatov, whose headed efforts were denied only by the brilliance of Shay Given.
That's fine. But nobody in the world in their mid-30s also still runs at pace with the ball totally under control the way Giggs does.
You still cannot second-guess him. You get a duck of the shoulder here and a shake of the hips from the Elvis worshipper there.
There was plenty to praise Giggs for in the 90 minutes. But it was what went on during injury-time that told you the lot about the player, the man. The embodiment of all that is great in what manager Alex Ferguson has built.
A mistake by Rio Ferdinand had let Craig Bellamy run half the length of the pitch to snatch what looked a draw for City on 90 minutes.
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United's players were out on their feet in despair, heads bowed. They would have to settle for the point. Not Giggs. Within moments of the restart he roared towards the City box as if it was the first minute not added time. Joleon Lescott blocked his path and the ball went out for a City throw.
The visitors' tails were up, yet it was Giggs complaining they were time-wasting over taking it. He still believed the game could swing back in United's favour.
And when a ball dropped from the skies, Giggs, who had pulled inside, trapped it and played it through for Michael Owen to finish.
Game 812 for the Welshman and one of the best halves he has ever played.
Ferguson said last season he could no longer play Giggs as a rampaging winger after 18 years. He has tried to change him into more of a playmaker. Yesterday he was a mixture of both, sending defenders back on their heels and cutting inside to affect play from a deeper role.
During the lean times, as Ferguson rebuilt and Chelsea and Arsenal shared the title for three years, Giggs became the butt of the fans' frustrations.
He was even booed once when substituted in a particularly poor home game.
At that stage, five years ago, it looked like retirement beckoned. But the Welshman kept his dignity, embarked on a schedule of yoga to boost his dodgy hamstrings and watched his food and drink intake even closer than before.
Two years ago, he retired from international football.
Giggs knew the finishing-line was approaching but was determined to push it back. During the derby it seemed as far away as ever.
He has played more games than any other United player and also has more medals than any other United player.
When Cristiano Ronaldo left, people asked if he would be regarded as an all-time great.
But you have to stay around a lot longer and do a lot more before you can be spoken of in the same breath as a Best, Law or Charlton. Giggs can be, without argument.
When the sculptors are next called upon to provide lasting evidence of greatness at Old Trafford, it will be the form of Alex Ferguson immortalised in bronze. I suggest Giggs should be stood alongside him.
Two men who have epitomised all that is great about United and all that continues to be.
Yes, men can, of course, still play professional football at 35.
But at the speed and intensity Giggs did yesterday? For the biggest club in the world? In the weekend's most watched match on the planet?
And not just play in it. Dominate the second half and win it. Not with a goal but with an unerring vision, energy and quality.
At a rough estimate, there was probably £400million worth of talent on the Old Trafford pitch. Yet it was a man snatched from City at youth level for nothing, and groomed to become a teenage star, who shone above the rest in his footballing twilight.
To put it in perspective, the man asked to handle Giggs down the flank yesterday was just two years old when the Welsh wing wizard made his Manchester United debut.
Micah Richards was left looking like a soccer toddler, as he and the rest of the Manchester City defence were bamboozled by Giggs' runs and delivery of the ball.
He put centres on Darren Fletcher's head to make it 2-1 and 3-2 for United. Time and again, he swung the ball in to Dimitar Berbatov, whose headed efforts were denied only by the brilliance of Shay Given.
That's fine. But nobody in the world in their mid-30s also still runs at pace with the ball totally under control the way Giggs does.
You still cannot second-guess him. You get a duck of the shoulder here and a shake of the hips from the Elvis worshipper there.
There was plenty to praise Giggs for in the 90 minutes. But it was what went on during injury-time that told you the lot about the player, the man. The embodiment of all that is great in what manager Alex Ferguson has built.
A mistake by Rio Ferdinand had let Craig Bellamy run half the length of the pitch to snatch what looked a draw for City on 90 minutes.
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United's players were out on their feet in despair, heads bowed. They would have to settle for the point. Not Giggs. Within moments of the restart he roared towards the City box as if it was the first minute not added time. Joleon Lescott blocked his path and the ball went out for a City throw.
The visitors' tails were up, yet it was Giggs complaining they were time-wasting over taking it. He still believed the game could swing back in United's favour.
And when a ball dropped from the skies, Giggs, who had pulled inside, trapped it and played it through for Michael Owen to finish.
Game 812 for the Welshman and one of the best halves he has ever played.
Ferguson said last season he could no longer play Giggs as a rampaging winger after 18 years. He has tried to change him into more of a playmaker. Yesterday he was a mixture of both, sending defenders back on their heels and cutting inside to affect play from a deeper role.
During the lean times, as Ferguson rebuilt and Chelsea and Arsenal shared the title for three years, Giggs became the butt of the fans' frustrations.
He was even booed once when substituted in a particularly poor home game.
At that stage, five years ago, it looked like retirement beckoned. But the Welshman kept his dignity, embarked on a schedule of yoga to boost his dodgy hamstrings and watched his food and drink intake even closer than before.
Two years ago, he retired from international football.
Giggs knew the finishing-line was approaching but was determined to push it back. During the derby it seemed as far away as ever.
He has played more games than any other United player and also has more medals than any other United player.
When Cristiano Ronaldo left, people asked if he would be regarded as an all-time great.
But you have to stay around a lot longer and do a lot more before you can be spoken of in the same breath as a Best, Law or Charlton. Giggs can be, without argument.
When the sculptors are next called upon to provide lasting evidence of greatness at Old Trafford, it will be the form of Alex Ferguson immortalised in bronze. I suggest Giggs should be stood alongside him.
Two men who have epitomised all that is great about United and all that continues to be.
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