The defender was sent off for two needless bookings in the
first half and incurred the wrath of his manager after the game.
Louis van Gaal slammed Chris Smalling and labelled him
"stupid" after he was given a red card for two bookable
offences in the first half of Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to
Manchester City.
The England international, who started the game at centre-
back, picked up his first caution for needlessly charging down
Joe Hart's goal-kick before hacking down James Milner
before half-time.
That meant United had to play the remaining 52 minutes with
10 men and a makeshift back four of Antonio Valencia,
Michael Carrick, Paddy McNair and Luke Shaw after Marcus
Rojo also exited the game after dislocating his shoulder.
Sergio Aguero ultimately made the extra man count by firing
home a 63rd minute winner for City, though United did at
least display an admirable spirit in the second period and
could even have snatched a point, with Robin van Persie,
Angel Di Maria and Fellaini all going close.
After the game, Van Gaal spoke of his anger at Smalling and
said the defender was guilty of failing to control his
aggression, while hinting he had had words with the 24-year-
old.
"In a derby you have to be careful - the second yellow card is
a stupid yellow card," Van Gaal told BBC Sport.
"The sending off is not one of those things. As a player you
have to control your aggression. I didn't see the first yellow
but with the second, you know you already have a yellow, so
have to handle it differently. I said that to the players."
The result means United have picked up just 13 points from
the first 10 Premier League games of the season, but Van
Gaal is convinced his side are just as good as City and
Chelsea after facing both in the space of seven days.
"We are very close. You saw it against Chelsea and now
against Manchester City. They are the two best clubs in this
league and the difference is zero I think."
Next up for United is a clash with Crystal Palace at Old
Trafford on Saturday as they look to close the four-point gap
between themselves and the top four.