Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a pair of goals as Manchester United defeated crosstown rival Manchester City 4-2 with a man short to reach the quarterfinals of the FA Cup Saturday.
United was cruising at 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to Paul Scholes' 34th minute goal when defender Gary Neville was sent off in the 39th minute for violent conduct.
The England defender became angry at being booked for diving in a tackle by City's Michael Tarnat. A frustrated Neville then shoved Tarnat, before pushing City's Steve McManaman, whom he also headbutted.
Referee Jeff Winter pulled Neville away as other players and officials gathered around. He showed Neville a red card for violent conduct -- only the second in his United career.
"You can't do something like that," Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said. "He deserved to be sent off. It was uncharacteristic, and he has let himself down."
Despite the man disadvantage, Van Nistelrooy scored United's second in the 71st minute, an untidy prod into the net at the far post from a Cristiano Ronaldo cross. The Dutchman took his shirt off and whirled it like a windmill in delight.
Ronaldo added the third three minutes later. City goalkeeper Arni Arason pushed a Ryan Giggs attempt away, but Ronaldo chipped the rebound into the net. The Portuguese international also had the ball in the back of the net in first half injury time, but was ruled offside.
City pulled a goal back through Tarnat in the 77th minute with a powerful strike over the reaching arms of United's American goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Van Nistelrooy scored his second of the match in the 80th minute. Roy Keane headed the ball down across goal where Van Nistelrooy trapped it between his ankles on the goalline, then kicked it into the net.
Robbie Fowler added City's second in the 85th minute with a quickly taken free-kick that caught Howard unawares.
"I thought in the first half we were outstanding. We could have been three or four up," Ferguson said.
"The sending-off changed the nature of the game. They had a man extra, but our counterattacking play in the second half was fantastic -- we could have scored five. It was a performance of great character, and I am really pleased."
City was left to rue its missed attempts on manager Kevin Keegan's 53rd birthday.
City's American midfielder Claudio Reyna nearly scored past his international teammate late in the first half, but Howard parried the ball.
Howard pulled off an impressive save in the 58th minute to deny a close-range Joey Barton strike, lunging to push the ball up and over the bar with his right arm.
McManaman also missed a good chance, when he scuffed a clear attempt at goal into the arms of Howard.
Scottish Premier League
Celtic edged closer to regaining the Scottish Premier League title on Saturday, notching up a come-from-behind win against Dundee United after Rangers stumbled.
Celtic's 2-1 win equals a 40-year British record for the most number of consecutive wins. Shaun Maloney and Chris Sutton ensured Celtic extended its winning league run to 23 games to match Scottish club Morton's achievement in 1963-1964.
The win also virtually ended Rangers' title hopes as Celtic extended its lead to 13 points.
Only a late Frank de Boer header gave Rangers a point at Pittodrie Stadium. Aberdeen led after two minutes when the ball hit Alexander Diamond between the legs before bouncing over the line.
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