between himself and Manuel Pellegrini after the
Manchester derby ended goalless.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany insisted there is no
rift between himself and manager Manuel Pellegrini after
returning to the starting XI to help the Premier League leaders to
a 0-0 draw against rivals Manchester United.
Kompany started City's previous two matches on the bench
having gone against Pellegrini's wishes to play in Belgium's
Euro 2012 qualifier against Israel – his first action after missing
five club matches with a calf injury.
The City skipper was restored to play a full part in his 19th and,
arguably, most forgettable Manchester derby – a turgid contest
of few chances at Old Trafford on Sunday.
"Everyone knows how much this game means to me," Kompany
told Sky Sports. "I was disappointed to be left out of the
team but it is all about opinions.
"There is no problem with me and the manager."
City maintained their record of not conceding in the Premier
League this season with Kompany on the field, keeping their
first clean sheet for nine matches since the 29-year-old last
completed 90 minutes at Crystal Palace on September 12.
"I don't know how it looked from the outside but it didn't feel like
a dynamic derby," he added. "Both teams looked defensively
solid."
United finished strongly, with substitute Jesse Lingard striking
the crossbar before Chris Smalling drew a sharp save from Joe
Hart.
The City goalkeeper was pleased by the dogged defensive
display in front of him – where Kompany's central-defensive
partner Nicolas Otamendi in particular excelled – but he does
not want to see his team forced into such an approach on a
regular basis
"It's a performance that I'm glad we have in the locker but I'd
prefer it if we didn't have to use it," he said.
"We came wanting three points but respect to Manchester
United, we had to defend well and limited them to two half-
chances.
"We don't want praise, we want points. We are back on top of
the league now and we can hopefully kick on."
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