United went down 2-1 to a City side who were apparently fired up by Neville’s comments, especially Carlos Tevez.
And the sparks look set to carry on in the second leg at Old Trafford this week after a Tevez goal celebration was not greeted well by Neville.
Neville told The Sun: "We certainly deserved at least a draw for our performance at City.
"For the first 40 minutes and the last half-hour we were the stronger team."
The controversial turning point came when United defender Rafael was adjudged to have fouled Craig Bellamy and City were awarded a penalty that never was which Tevez dispatched.
Neville added: "The replays proved the decision was wrong and everyone could see it."