The Manchester derby is a fierce competition between the two clubs of Manchester. It’s a battle between Manchester’s red and blue sides, giving the winner bragging rights. Manchester derbies, through the years, have produced some iconic moments. We will go through some of the best and most iconic Manchester derby games through the years.
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1. Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City (2009)
The Manchester derby in 2009 had entertainment from start to end. The game started with a bang, as it took Wayne Rooney just 2 minutes to score the opening goal. Wayne Rooney found himself free in Manchester City’s penalty area very early on in the game. He capitalised on this opportunity and made it 1-0 to Manchester United. In the 16th minute, Ben Foster made a horrible error, gifting the ball to Carlos Tevez. Tevez passed the ball to Gareth Barry, who had an open goal staring at him. Barry passed the ball into Manchester United’s net to make it 1-1.
Manchester United started the second half just as they had started the first. Darren Fletcher scored a header in the 49th minute to re-establish Manchester United’s lead. Craig Bellamy scored in the 52nd minute to level the score again. Bellamy scored a fantastic goal, putting the ball into the top corner. In the 80th minute, Darren Fletcher scored another header to give United the lead for the 3rd time in the game.
This was set to be the winner for Manchester United, but in the 90th minute, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand made a defensive error, giving the ball to Bellamy. Bellamy ran all the way into United’s box and scored again, making the score 3-3. Manchester United fans were crestfallen over this late goal, but the game was not over yet. A 96th-minute goal by Michael Owen sent the Manchester United fans into a frenzy. This late goal gave Manchester United the lead for one last time as they won the match 4-3.
2. Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City (2011)
Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City is one of the biggest defeats United have had in the Manchester Derby. Mario Balotelli opened the scoring for City in the 22nd minute. He then did the iconic ‘Why Always Me?’ celebration. United looked quite comfortable after conceding, all the way till the 47th minute.
This is when Jonny Evans received a red card for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. After the red card, United managed to hold off City attacks till the 60th minute, but Balotelli finally managed to score another one in the 60th minute to give City a 2-0 lead. Shortly after, Aguero scored to make it 3-0. The game looked done and dusted, but in the 81st minute, Darren Fletcher gave United fans a glimmer of hope. He scored to make the score 3-1.
United, however, failed to score another goal. Instead, they came undone in the last few minutes of the game. United conceded in the 90th minute, 91st minute, and 93rd minute to Dzeko, Silva, and Dzeko again. United’s unravelling towards the end of the game meant the game finished 6-1 in favour of Manchester City.
3. Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United (2012)
Manchester derbies are always filled with drama and late goals, and this game certainly had that. Wayne Rooney scored in the 16th minute to give Manchester United the lead. Rooney doubled his total in the 29th minute, making it 2-0. United went into halftime with a comfortable lead over City. They looked entirely in control of the game.
City ramped up the pressure on United’s goal in the second half. Yaya Toure managed to get the breakthrough in the 60th minute to bring Manchester City back into the game. In the 86th minute, Pablo Zabaleta managed to latch onto a loose ball and send it to the back of Manchester United’s net. This made the score 2-2 with time nearly up.
In the 92nd minute, Manchester United got a freekick in a dangerous position. The freekick was in the perfect place for Robin Van Persie to take it and deliver he did. Robin Van Persie fired the freekick in the back of City’s net in the 92nd minute to give United a 3-2 win over their fierce rivals Manchester City.
4. Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City (2011)
No Manchester derby list can be complete without including this classic game. This game produced arguably one of the most iconic goals in any Manchester derby. Nani opened the scoring for Manchester United towards the end of the first half. Nani scored in the 41st minute to give Manchester United the lead.
In the 65th minute, Edin Dzeko took a shot which deflected off of David Silva and ended in the back of Manchester United’s goal. The goal was credited to David Silva, and the score became 1-1. Then, Wayne Rooney produced one of the best goals scored in the Premier League.
Wayne Rooney scored a bicycle kick into the top corner of Manchester City’s goal. This gave Manchester United the lead in the 78th minute of the game. The score remained 2-1 till the end of the game, and Rooney’s bicycle kick ended up giving Manchester United a 2-1 win over Manchester City.
5. Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United (2018)
In the post Sir Alex Ferguson era, Manchester City has been the more dominant team, but Manchester United reminded City of what they are capable of. City started strong. Kompany scored a header from a corner in the 25th minute to give City a 1-0 lead. City doubled their lead just 5 minutes later as Ilkay Gundogan found the bottom corner. The game went to halftime with the score of 2-0 to City.
The second half, however, truly belonged to Manchester United. Paul Pogba scored two goals for United in the span of 2 minutes. Pogba scored in the 53rd minute to make it 2-1. Just moments later, in the 55th minute, Paul Pogba scored for United again, making the score level. Inspired by this comeback, Manchester United kept trying to score a third and take the lead. In the 69th minute, Chris Smalling managed to get to the end of a set piece and score.
United now led 3-2 in the game they were losing 2-0 till the 53rd minute. Manchester City went all out to try and score, but an outstanding save by David de Gea and a post by Raheem Sterling meant that the score remained 3-2 to United at full time, completing the comeback.
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