Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany played down the impact of his side's thumping 4-1 derby win over rivals Manchester United.
Sergio Aguero's brace and further strikes from Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri earned City a win which reflected their dominant performance. The game rekindled memories of their 6-1 away win over United in their Premier League title-winning campaign two years ago, but Kompany dismissed suggestions they had made a "statement" in the title race.
“I think you make a statement over the whole season,” he said. “It’s too early to say it’s a defining game. When we won 6-1 at Old Trafford I said we needed to stay humble, it’s only three points.
“But it gives us all the confidence and allows fans to celebrate for a couple of days.”
Asked about why his side were so dominant, Kompany told Sky Sports 1: “Maybe the game meant a little bit more to us than to them. We’ve been looking forward to it, our fans have been speaking about it for a long time and we needed to win.
“We have a fantastic home record and we know there is no reason we should fear the opposition.”
Kompany's manager Manuel Pellegrini said: "I'm very happy. The way we played is the way I want this team to play, very similar to against Newcastle. We played the way we work all week."
United's consolation goal came via a stunning Wayne Rooney free-kick late on, while captain Patrice Evra headed a corner by the England striker against a post.
Pellegrini added: “We went 4-0 up and Manchester United didn’t have a really clear chance apart from a beautiful free-kick by Rooney and one corner. We have been playing irregular in other games, but it is normal in this moment of the season.
“This was a high test today and the players had a great answer.”
Opposite number David Moyes admitted: "We didn't play well, they were better. They started much stronger and quicker.
“We’ll get better, there’s a long season to go. We’ll put this behind us and move on.”
Moyes accepted Toure’s goal just before half-time, giving City the two-goal cushion their first period warranted, was crucial.
“Losing the second goal just before half-time changed it and they came out well again second half,” he said. “Great credit to the lads that they kept going, kept working away and got a goal at the end.
“Wayne Rooney’s performance was outstanding, he didn’t deserve to be in a losing team.”
United have seven points from their opening five games, having lost to rivals City and Liverpool, and Moyes repeated his unease at the testing start allocated to his side by the fixture computer.
“It could be a lot better but we did say it was a difficult start,” he said. “I said at the time I wasn’t convinced, the way the balls came out of the Premier League bag, and I’m still not.”
