For those of you who thought the magic of the FA Cup was dead, Sunday’s Manchester derby will have been a very welcome tonic.

While traditionally the third round belongs to teams from the lower reaches of the Football League who dare to dream of giantkillings and lucrative cup runs, there can be no denying that this year, the third round belonged to Manchester.

With City looking to heap more misery on United, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s side looking for vengeance after the 6-1 drubbing they suffered at the hands of their rivals in October, it was United who drew first blood. Ten minutes in, Wayne Rooney’s exquisite looping header left City’s stand-in keeper Costel Pantilimon (who, if I’m not mistaken also played Justin in the film Dodgeball to great acclaim) with no chance.

Early goals always make for pulsating cup ties, and this was no different. And, had bungling referee Chris Foy not mistaken himself for the centre of the universe, there’s no telling how things might have panned out. But shortly after Rooney’s opener, the man in black, seemingly desperate for attention, gave Vincent Kompany a red card for a challenge on Nani that – while perhaps a little meaty – won the ball cleanly and without any complaint from the United forward.

City fans will surely look back on that red card as the deciding factor in the match’s outcome. Soon after Kompany parted company with proceedings, Danny Welbeck’s neatly taken hook-shot doubled the visitors’ advantage, before Aleksandar Kolarov’s dubious foul was pounced upon by the merciless and malevolent Foy, who took no time in pointing to the spot.

Pantilimon, who despite his immense 6ft 8ins frame could do nothing to keep the first two goals out of the City net, kept Rooney’s spot-kick out, but unfortunately for the big Romanian, his save rebounded straight out to Rooney, who headed deftly into the opposite corner - 3-0. While City may have felt a little hard done by, it was no more than United’s ruthless approach deserved.

It was a first half that proved just how valuable Vincent Kompany is to City. Not only is he their best defender, but also a galvanising force. In the period leading up to the break, City looked disjointed and in need of direction.

Indeed, it is to City’s credit that, despite losing the talismanic rock upon which their defence is founded, that they managed to claw two goals back in the second half.

If the early goal in the first half set the tempo, the early goal in the second half increased it. Kolarov’s inch-perfect free-kick looped over the wall and left United’s Anders Lindegaard stranded. City fans smelt a comeback, so did the City players, and so too, it would seem, did United, who despite trying to take advantage of their extra man, did little to trouble Pantilimon before the hour mark.

And so, with United in need of some stability and level-headedness, up stepped Paul Scholes. Re-registered in the early hours of Sunday morning, Scholes was brought on.

His first few touches were met with rapturous cheers from the United fans, as though every time he deigned to grace the ball with his foot, some wondrous magical event might occur. And, in a sense, it did.

It was City’s fans who should have been cheering Scholes’ passing, however, for it was an uncharacteristically sloppy ball from him that allowed James Milner to break down the right and whip in a perfect cross to Sergio Aguero – who deserves a medal for ‘Perseverance In Isolation Up Front and Dedication to Holding the Ball Up’ – who beat Lindegaard at the second time of asking. Game on.

While City were desperate to break forward, United pressed well, eating up time and slowing the pace of the game right down. The last 20 minutes were played on a knife-edge. With Chris ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ Foy denying nailed-on penalties at both ends, the score remained at 3-2.

In the dying moments of the game, those who had decried the FA Cup’s brilliance were silenced by the most wondrous sight ever witnessed in football. There is no vision more beautiful in the entire realm of sporting endeavour, than that of a keeper running the length of the field into No Man’s Land for a corner kick.

It was of little surprise, then, that it was the head of Costel Pantilimon which met the ensuing kick. Another day, another time, and Pantilimon may well have etched his name into the City history books forever. This time, however, he guided his header wide of the post, and United were through.

The atmosphere at the end of the game was strange. Both sets of fans were happy with their team’s performance. City, up against it since the red card, battled bravely in the second half, but – perhaps because they were missing Yaya Toure, and perhaps because Samir Nasri had another off day – even they couldn’t break down a resilient United.

And so, it’s one apiece in the Manchester derbies of 2011-12 so far. While it’s 8-4 on aggregate to City, United have reclaimed a hugh chunk of the pride they lost in October. What’s more, there’s hope for the future, for fans of United, City, and football in general. The Manchester derby now carries as much excitement as El Clasico, and it’s a fixture the whole of Manchester can be proud of.

The so-called Crazy Season continues. Perhaps it isn’t as cut-and-dried as some would have you believe.