City hit six to leave derby rivals United reeling

Manchester City FC laid down an astonishing marker in the Premier League title race with a 6-1 triumph at ten-man derby rivals Manchester United FC, on a day when Chelsea FC lost at Queens Park Rangers FC.

Mario Balotelli opened the scoring in a remarkable derby meeting with a fine finish against the run of play on 22 minutes, and he proved dangerous again when he broke clear just after the break, prompting a rash challenge that resulted in a red card for Jonny Evans. David Silva and James Milner then combined to set up Balotelli on the hour mark, before Sergio Agüero made it three nine minutes later.

Darren Fletcher responded for the hosts to suggest a fightback might be on the cards, but substitute Edin Džeko registered twice late on, either side of a Silva strike, as United conceded six goals for the first time since October 1996. Having recorded only their second win at Old Trafford since 1974, City now lead their neighbours by five points in the table.

Chelsea are another point back after they fell 1-0 at west London rivals QPR, Heidar Helguson notching a tenth-minute penalty before the visitors lost both José Bosingwa and Didier Drogba to first-half dismissals. Elsewhere, Robin van Persie came off the bench to score twice and help Arsenal FC down Stoke City FC 3-1, while Everton FC prevailed 3-1 at Fulham FC and a Rafael van der Vaart double ensured Tottenham Hotspur FC ran out 2-1 winners at Blackburn Rovers FC.