Manchester’s DNA and the city is widely acknowledged as the UK’s music capital, with particular strengths in rock, pop, jazz, and classical music, but we are not here to talk about music; we are here to talk about Football.
Two top footballing teams reside in the beautiful city of Manchester, with the main difference being the colours, blue and red. There are plenty more differences, and we will investigate them, and maybe you, the reader, will learn a thing or two about these great clubs. If you like what you read, hop onto our LV BET Sports Blog section to see other articles that might strike your fancy.
Some of the topics that we will cover are:
- A brief history of Manchester City vs Manchester United
- Significant derby fixtures
- Head-to-head record
- Who has won the most titles?
A brief history of Manchester United vs Manchester City
Let’s set the scene; the first Manchester Derby was played in 1881; United played at Old Trafford while City played at the City of Manchester Stadium, with the two stadiums separated by around 4 miles (6.4KM). The teams have played 187 matches in all competitions, and United has the upper hand in terms of victories.
Early years
Before the Second World War, the two clubs helped each other in terms of players as it was seen as helping a fellow Manchester Club. An example of the relationship between the two teams: following a financial scandal, City’s main squad that won the FA Cup was suspended and banned from ever representing the club again. When the suspensions ended in January 1907, four players joined United, where they helped the squad to gain their first league title in 1908.
In the 1970s, there were two controversial incidents. December 1970, George Best flew into a dangerous tackle that broke the leg of Glyn Pardoe – the severity of the injury almost resulted in the City defender losing his leg.
The following season, an entertaining 3-3 draw saw Francis Lee accuse Best of diving and theatrically showed emphasised the point, much to the joy of the onlookers. In 1973-74 things got a bit heated, Mike Doyle and Lou Macari got sent off, but both players refused to leave the pitch, which led to the referee taking the drastic action of taking both teams back to the dressing room until the two players accepted their dismissals.
TheIn the 80s and 90s
The 1986-87 season brought relegation for City, while United finished 11th in a season that saw them replace Ron Atkinson with Alex Ferguson. The golden era of Manchester United was about to start. Ferguson’s first derby win was in the third round of the FA Cup (1-0). United later won 2-0 to continue their improvement and push City closer to relegation. United dominated the fixtures during this decade, claiming an unbeaten record in derby games.
The 2000s
The year 2001 saw the culmination of the long-standing feud between Roy Keane and Alfie Haaland. The feud started in 1998 when United captain Keane suffered a cruciate ligament injury when he fouled Haaland, who at the time played for Leeds. As Keane was agonisingly in pain, Haaland accused him of faking an injury. Three long years had passed, and Keane was back to his best as they met again; this time, Haaland was with City. Keane saw an opportunity and executed his revenge, ultimately ending Alfie Haaland’s career. In 2002, City won their last derby in Maine Road 3-1, ending the Sky Blues’ barren run against United.
The 2010’s
The seasons following City’s takeover in 2008-09 saw two well-contested semi-final fixtures between the clubs. Controversy ensued when City signed Carlos Tevez after his contract with United ended and erected a billboard reading ”Welcome to Manchester” at the top of Deansgate. The billboard provoked Sir Alex Ferguson into claiming City were a ‘small club with a small club mentality” and subsequently called them ”noisy neighbours” during the season.
The 2009-10 derby was coined the best derby of all time by Sir Alex Ferguson, he can be a bit biased as his side won the game, but later this was confirmed as the match was voted the greatest Premier League game at the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards in 2012.
The Fans
The best thing about English football matches is undoubtedly the fans, as we saw recently when games had to be played in empty stadiums due to the pandemic. The atmosphere was not the same; it was also reflected in the lack of energy from the players.
Manchester United fans arguably view the North West Derby as a bigger game, but City fans are agreed that United is their main rivalry. This might be due to being a competitive club since the takeover, so the rivalries for City are still on the horizon. We can also see one building with Liverpool due to the spectacular games they have against each other.
City fans often ridicule United fans for being tourists in a play towards United’s global fan base, stating that City is the club for the locals and United fans travel up from London or fly in from Europe and Asia for a day out. City mainly accuses United fans of being glory hunters as they have endured an outstanding period where they were competitive. In turn, Manchester United fans blast City supporters for being ‘Plastic Fans’ as they only started supporting the blue side after the takeover.
Significant derby fixtures
23rd November 2011 Old Trafford Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z73aSLazrD8
The biggest defeat at Old Trafford for Manchester United in recent history and with more significance for the Blue side of Manchester was that it came against Sir Alex Ferguson. City piled on the pressure early on, and after a flurry of attacks, they managed to get their early goal after a cutback from the left wing to Balotelli, who was ready to pounce on the penalty spot, drilling it home in with a right-footed shot. That goal is famous for the goal celebration that came after, ”Why Always Me?”.
After a couple of minutes, another brilliant link-up play between Mario Balotelli and Kun Aguero, the Italian was through on goal, but Johnny Evans tripped him just outside the box, prompting Mark Clattenburg to give him the marching orders, putting his side at a disadvantage for the remaining time. Balotelli was on the mark for the second goal as he tapped home a well-drilled cross from James Milner. A similar move gave Manchester City the third goal of the game, but this time the goalscorer was Kun Aguero.
United pulled one back after a curling effort from Darren Fletcher found the top right corner. Edin Dzeko piled on the misery for the home side when he kneed the ball in from point blank range. United stretched out play in the hopes of mounting a comeback, but it only left them exposed at the back, and City made the most of it. David Silva got through on the right-hand side and slotted the ball between the keeper’s feet, leaving David De Gea frustrated at the time and space allowed for the Spaniard to get a shot on.
In the last few minutes of the game, a clearance from Chris Smalling was picked up by Silva, who played through Dzeko, who emphatically made it 6-1. It was one of the biggest defeats for Manchester United in the Premier League as they collapsed in the second half. It was a tough game, but the sending-off made things even worse.
7 April 2018 at the Etihad Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UY1-DJTWr2k
Manchester City were on the brink of winning the title at home against Manchester United. At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City started the best as you would expect; a corner kick was met by Vincent Kompany, who nodded it home for 1-0. City pressed on, and Raheem Sterling played a short pass to Ikaay Gundogan, who timed a perfect pirouette and, with a right-footed shot, found the corner of the net, making it 2-0 before halftime. United came out with more energy in the second half and created some chances. Sanchez lobbed a cross to Ander Herrera, who chested the ball to Paul Pogba, who stretched to chip it above Ederson, and United were back in the game. The same combination got United’s second, as Sanchez dribbled the ball just outside the box and picked up the run of Paul Pogba, who met the cross from Sanchez and made it 2-2. A free kick was awarded, and Sanchez was the taker; Chris Smalling was unmarked in the box, and he fired home to make it 3-2 and secure the three points for his side after going two down in the first half. City tried to fight back, but De Gea made sure to keep it 3-2, and that is how it ended. People give credit to the halftime team talk that Jose Mourinho delivered at the time. Manchester City still won the Premier League title, but United delayed their party in some fashion.
10 November 1994 Manchester United 5-0 Manchester City
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71W7qD8VlfQ
At Old Trafford in 1994 United registered one of the biggest wins over City in history. That year there was a huge difference between the teams and United were the better team as that year they won the league whilst Manchester City finished in 16th place. Eric Cantona opened the score after a defence-splitting run and a sumptuous finish. Andrei Kanchelskis added to the score after he was free on the right-hand side, he shot, and after a crucial deflection, it crept just inside the first post. Andrei Kanchelskis added another for Manchester United when he was played through on goal by Eric Cantona; he got a lucky bounce off the keeper, which made it easy for him to slot home the third goal of the night. Mark Hughes made it four as he latched onto a cross, the ball stuck to his feet, and he chipped the keeper. Kanchelskis completed the hat trick after a sublime counterattack to put the cherry on the icing on the cake, as the commentator described.
Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United 9 December 2012
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xklAoDqwk1A
We got all the ingredients for an epic encounter at the Etihad Stadium. It was first against second in the Premier League, and United were away against Manchester City on a Sunday afternoon. Manchester United started the better; Ashley Young made a dash on the left wing and fed in Wayne Rooney, who controlled the ball and squeezed the ball into the bottom left corner leaving Joe Hart stranded. The second goal for Wayne Rooney came a couple of minutes later when Rafael zipped a low and hard cross, and Rooney was on form to net again. Manchester City pressured United to get back into the game in the second half. Tevez was played in, and De Gea parried his shot; the ball came to David Silva, whose shot was once again saved by David de Gea, the ball was recycled back to Yaya Toure just inside the box, and he calmly found the bottom left corner to make it 2-1. A corner caught out Manchester United once again as all the bodies went down to defend the corner, but none of them marked Zabaleta, who was stationed at the edge of the box, the ball fell kindly to his feet, and Zabaleta struck the ball cleanly through a sea of bodies leaving De Gea unsighted for the equaliser. United were awarded a cheap free kick just on the edge of the box favouring the left foot of Robin Van Persie, and after consultation with Wayne Rooney, who was on a hat trick, the Dutchman was the taker. Van Persie went to the far post, and after a crucial deflection, it clipped the inside of the bar and went in, sending the United players and fans in ecstasy. The celebrations were cut short as people in the crowd heralded coins toward the players, injuring Rio Ferdinand in the process. With that win, United ended Manchester City’s unbeaten run at the Etihad stadium and went clear at the top by six points.
Manchester United 0-3 Manchester City 25 March 2014
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No3YFdeGxmk
Old Trafford was once again where United fell to a humiliating defeat at the hand of Man City. Manchester City again started the better by piling on the pressure on the home side. David Silva silky dribbled past a couple of defenders, but a brave Rafael blocked his shot, Manchester City won the second ball, and with two quick passes, Sami Nasri benefitted from Rafael being out of position; he got his shot away, which hit the post and Dzeko was on point to tap it home. Dzeko added another in the second half as he opened up his body to side-foot the ball into the net from a corner kick taken by Sami Nasri. Yaya Toure added the third goal to seal the win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side at the time. This game showed how far off were Manchester United under Moyes as they were outplayed for long periods of the game and showed no real threat to the opposition.
Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City 20 September 2009
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj8yzn0XjAw
On one of the most memorable derby days in history, United were famous for their stoppage time winners, and in this game, Michael Owen was the hero. The action started as the game’s first whistle was blown; a throw-in was played into Patrice Evra, who found Wayne Rooney, and with a fake shot, he sat down two defenders and had the time to find the bottom right with a right-footed shot. A bad backpass to the keeper had Ben Foster confused, and he was caught in possession by Tevez just outside the box; Tevez squared it to Barry, who equalised for the Blues. Manchester United tried to get ahead again and did just that through an unlikely source, Darren Fletcher, who scored his first goal by nodding in a cross fed by Ryan Giggs to make it 2-1. A few minutes later, for Manchester City, Craig Bellamy picked up the ball on the left wing he ran toward Rio Ferdinand and rifled one into the top right corner with no chance in the world for the keeper to save that. The same combination got United the third goal of the day as Giggs whipped an outswinging cross which Fletcher met to make it a brace for him and put United ahead again. It was end-to-end stuff; United where calmly passing it around when Rio Ferdinand tried to chip a ball through to the winger, but it was intercepted, and Bellamy was played through; Craig got on his bike and ran like crazy, rounding the keeper and levelling the contest once again. As the game was coming to a close, Giggs picked up the ball at the middle of the park and saw Michael Owen in space down the left-hand side; with his magical left foot, he found Owen and, with an outside-the-boot effort, made it 4-3 much to the jubilation of the home crowd. Name a more iconic duo than Manchester United scoring and injury time.
12 February 1955 Manchester United 0-5 Manchester City Old Trafford
PREMIER LEAGUE Match Highlights – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SfdaJKnrhQ
It was an FA Cup tie, and Manchester City were the hosts at Maine Road. At the time when Manchester United came up against Man City, they usually win games, but this was not one of those occasions. Manchester City showed that they are not to be taken lightly, and by half time, City were two up. In the first half, Manchester United did not offer much of a treat in the first half, and they paid the price of leaving too many spaces at the back. In the second half, Man United created more chances, but still, Manchester City got the better of them, with the final result being 5-0 and a day to forget for the Red half of Manchester.
Other notable moments:
PREMIER LEAGUE 2-0 United win at Old Trafford 8 March 2020 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErthTbUACEI
A season where Manchester United finished third and did the league double over Manchester City. For their visit to Old Trafford, City were without the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, who was out due to injury. A clever set-piece manoeuvre caught Manchester City out, and Martial slotted home the 1-0, and that is how the first half ended. In the second half, it was an even match with a lot of opportunities for both ends, but at the very end, Ederson played a short pass to Cancelo, which was too long for him to get to; McTominay hit it the first time and caught Ederson out of position to earn United the win.
Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City 8 January 2020 (Old Trafford) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_jvl9jIaAo
It was the first leg of the Carabao Cup Semi-Final at Old Trafford. In the first half, Manchester City kicked things off when Bernardo Silva picked up the ball on the right win and rifled it into the top left corner; De Gea had no chance of stopping that effort. Bernardo Silva was again in the thick of it when he played through Mahrez, who rounded De Gea and netted the 2-0. Kevin de Bruyne picked up the ball after a quick counter attack, and City outnumbered Manchester United. A fake shot from De Bruyne sat down Phil Jones, and the shot bounced off of De Gea and into Pereira, who scored into his net. Rashford pulled one back in the second half when Greenwood fed him a perfectly weighted through ball, and the England striker obliged as he made it 3-1. In the second leg, Man Utd won 1-0, but it was not enough to recover the damage done at Old Trafford.
2011/12 Premier League title
The outstanding season of 2011/12 was one for the history books, as both teams ended level on points, but Man City won the title as they had a better goal difference. Manchester United won their game against Sunderland, and they waited patiently to get news of the result at the Etihad. QPR, at a point, were leading against Man City but Dzeko levelled the score in the dying minutes of the game. Man City only wanted a goal to win the title, and from the kick off, QPR kicked the ball up the field and prepared for another City attack. The crowd spurring them on, Balotelli got into the box, stretching he played on Aguero, and he thumped home the winner, and the title was City’s once again. You can watch the live reaction from Sky Sports premier league commentators as they watch the drama unfold. One of the most outstanding endings to a game, let alone to a title. Usually, it was the other way around, with Manchester United winning games at the end, but this time Aguero came up trumps with one of the most iconic goals in the Premier League’s history.
Throughout the league, Man City managed to score eight goals more than Man Utd. The season was voted the greatest Premier League season in the Premier League 20 seasons awards, which shows how epic that year of football was, especially the second half of the season.
Head-to-head record
Between the two Manchester rivals, they played 187 matches throughout history. Man Utd won 77 whilst City won 57 and 53 ended in a draw. Eighteen of the draws were goalless, so whenever you watch these two against each other, you are bound to see goals.
The fixture’s top goalscorer is Wayne Rooney, with 11 goals to his name – scoring a brilliant goal at Old Trafford with a sublime bicycle kick.
As we have touched upon above, United have enjoyed their time being the better side in Manchester, but lately, they have been in the shadows as last season City did the league double over Manchester United with the Reds scoring just one goal and conceding six.
In the past ten years, Manchester United won the following titles:
1 Premier League (2012-13), 1 UEFA Europa League (2016-17), 1 FA Cup (2015-16), 1 EFL/Carabao Cup (2016-17), 1 Community Shield (2016)
On the other hand, Manchester City won the following titles in the last ten years:
5 Premier Leagues (13/14, 17/18, 18/19, 20/21, 21/22), 1 FA Cup (18/19), 6 League Cups (13/14,15/16, 17/18, 18/19, 19/20, 20/21), 3 Community Shields (12/13, 18/19, 19/20).
Who has won the most titles?
Manchester United have had their time in the sun with a flurry of domestic titles in the top flight of English football. Sir Alex Ferguson was the main protagonist of United’s great success over the years, and the Red Devils are yet to find someone who could push them to fight for a title. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola is building his legacy at City with some of the world’s most talented players at his disposal and method of playing. Pep Guardiola’s side employs a similar style of play that he used when he was with Barcelona, and he has a board who can fork out the cash to make it possible. Signings such as Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, and Erling Haaland would make any side a better team. Man City are yet to make their mark on the UEFA Champions League, a title that has eluded them, especially in recent years when they lost the Final against Chelsea and bowed out against Tottenham dramatically.
Both clubs are renowned as some of the best teams in the country, with one team that has dominated the scene for a long time and is a giant of the sport and the other being a powerhouse in the present and building for the future. It has been nine years since the last domestic title for United, with City winning it four times in the last five years. Man City are yet to make their mark in Europe, something Pep Guardiola’s side will be eager to accomplish in the coming years.
Manchester United:
Champions League: 3 times
Premier League: 20 times
FA Cup: 12
Community Shield: 21
Manchester City:
FA Cup: 6
League Cup: 8
Community Shield: 8
Premier League: 6
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