'Smalling should know better'.
That was the consensus after the defender was sent off at the end of the first half of Manchester United's derby defeat to City - and they were also the words of Off The Ball's Monday Night Football pundit Pat Nevin.
"I just think it was a glory moment. He got carried away by the occasion. Nothing more than that," said Pat of the ludicrous second yellow card that Smalling earned for himself in the 1- 0 loss.
As for the match itself which saw City appear rather unconvincing, Pat felt David Silva's absence through injury was telling.
But he also had a lot of praise for the low centre of gravity of the man who scored the winner, Sergio Aguero.
"If he gets one on one with anybody in the box, he will beat them. Because of his low centre of gravity, he will get away from them," said Pat.
He also believes Man United will turn the corner in January when they bring in some centre-backs of repute.
The former Chelsea midfielder also addressed Jose Mourinho's criticism of his club's - allegedly - silent fans against QPR.
"There is an odd thing. There is an expectation after a while and they spend more time goading QPR than they did cheering on the club," said Pat, who thinks that atmosphere issues are a problem for most of the big clubs, adding that Mourinho is doing the right thing.
