Man City fans should be credited for Sir Bobby Charlton tribute

Manchester City gave Manchester United a schooling on the pitch on Sunday and in the stands it was even more merciless.

"Old Trafford is falling down" was belted out well before kick-off and given its biggest airing yet as sunshine turned to rain around the ground. Erling Haaland's penalty in the first half allowed for gleeful taunting from the Blues packed into the away end and the chants only got louder when the response from the Stretford End was muted at best.

It went down brilliantly with the team, with Haaland dancing over to choruses of 'Champions again' at the end of the game and Pep Guardiola conducting encores as the players and fans alike basked in one of their best days at a ground that has given them so much pain. Yet for all the impression they made, the best thing the 3,008 supporters did all day was to join in fully with the pre-match tributes to United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

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That should not surprise anyone with a grasp of the fanbase or the city and its communities given the way the clubs pull together to show respect at such moments. The 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster was impeccably observed by Blues at Old Trafford in January 2008 despite fears leading up to the game, while going well back in time City allowed United to use Maine Road for years after the Second World War because of damage to Old Trafford.

However, the week before Sunday's derby saw news of a small number of City supporters involved in an offensive chant about the United great. It would be naive to think that was the only example, but also the fact that those who sang it on the concourse