With Manchester United flailing and failing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Manchester City thriving with Pep Guardiola, we take a look at five of the best Manchester derbies in recent memory.
Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United, 7 November 1993
The game took place just a little over one year after the invention of football, which coincided with the launch of the Premier League in England. It was also one of the few games between these two sides which have been really emotionally frenetic games. Most of the others have been fairly one-sided affairs, but in 1993 the game went back and forth.
The amiable Niall Quinn had City 2-0 up after half an hour, assisted first by the pleasant enough Mike Sheron, and then by Steve McMahon. Maine Road, where City used to play before they were bafflingly gifted a stadium by Manchester Council, was enjoying the schadenfreude that comes from beating your palpably more significant and talented rivals, just a few months after their first league title in years (I lied, there was football before 1992).
Then, United mounted one of their famous comebacks - it must be described as such or you are arrested and thrown into writers’ jail - with Eric Cantona scoring twice, leaving 12 minutes for both sides to go at one another. It was Roy Keane who grabbed the winner, four minutes from time, earning four points and delivering his most significant blow to City until he introduced himself to Alfie-Inge Haaland’s knee a decade or so later. United would go on to win the Premier League that season, which was not a feat achieved by City until they started having trophies bought for them.
Manchester City 5-1 Manchester United, 23 September 1989
Alex Ferguson was not always popular at Manchester United, and he was indeed invited to leave - the ‘Three years of excuses and it’s still crap. Ta-ra, Fergie’ banner would follow just three months after this game - when things were starting to look grim.
Back then, managers got more time to turn things around, and in this instance it was probably the right decision. However Ferguson had built what on paper looked a reasonably strong side: Jim Leighton, Viv Anderson, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince, Brian McClair, Mark Hughes all started and Lee Sharpe came on late in the second half. It was one that should have had the beating of City, but they had some talent of their own.
Youngsters Paul Lake, David White, Andy Hinchcliffe, Steve Redmond and Ian Brightwell filled out the team and Lake was an exceptional talent who failed to build on his potential. But Lake was at the heart of the win that day, inspiring the team to a huge 5-1 win. Manager Howard Kendall was still close to the peak of his powers, and was able to blow Ferguson away in a game the Scot would consider one of his worst experiences. He probably would not believe that there was even worse to come down the line.
Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City, 23 October 2011
By 2011 it was clear that United were under pressure from City - the new champions - and while it was far from clear that the club would implode, Ferguson-free, in the coming years, the win for Roberto Mancini demonstrated that City were leading the way and it was United who would now need to catch up.
Before Mario Balotelli lost his way at City, then for most of the rest of his career, he was outstanding. He had the confidence to try whatever he fancied, and the talent to pull much of it off. He had the ability and ruthlessness to shoot early, benefitting just as Alan Shearer did before him and Harry Kane does now. Don’t give the ‘keeper time to react, and you can shoot from many more places on the pitch.
Balotelli was close to the peak of his firework-exploding horseplay as well as his striking prowess, and he put City in the lead after 22 minutes, allowing him to mock-protest ‘WHY ALWAYS ME?’
There was little indication of what was to follow, with United trailing by just that goal at half-time.
Things changed in the start of the second half when Balotelli was dragged down by Jonny Evans, reducing United to 10 men. Balotelli then doubled the difference on the hour mark. 2-0 down against 11 men, of course, it looked bad enough. Sergio Aguero made it three, and then Darren Fletcher pulled one back with 10 minutes to go. United might have fancied their chances to chase the game - weirder things have happened at Old Trafford, after all.
Instead, with United an increasingly tired, jaded and frankly old team, City ran them ragged, every extra goal stamping their new superiority onto public consciousness. Edin Dzeko scored in the 90th minute, David Silva another a minute later, and Dzeko again two minutes hence. United had been crushed, and Ferguson had been embarrassed even more starkly.
Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United, 9 December 2012
One of Ferguson’s greatest talents was that he was always able to get back onto his perch, in England at least if not the Champions League.
He saw off Liverpool, he saw off Leeds, Blackburn, Chelsea and finally City. When he won back his title in 2013, he - we can now see - wisely saw that now was the time for a hospital pass, ultimately gifted to David Moyes.
What earned him the chance to quit at the top was the masterstroke of signing Robin van Persie. City’s Bobby M understandably wanted him too, but Ferguson was able to use his persuasive powers (not merely just shouting invective at people, as he is rumoured to have done to Samir Nasri after the Frenchman chose City over United) to convince the little boy in Van Persie to come to Old Trafford.
The Dutchman was exceptional for United. His self-belief was backed up by the swagger and arrogance of his colleagues. That was a welcome change from the neuroses of willowy Arsenal and Arsene Wenger’s determination to find the purest expression of aesthetic football, regardless of whether it won games or not. That determination was perhaps expressed best when United went to the Etihad and claimed a dramatic late victory.
A brilliant double from Wayne Rooney in the first half was then cancelled out by the superb Yaya Toure and the dependable Pablo Zabaleta, and the match appeared to drift to a phony war draw with just five minutes to go. For United it would have been a deflating concession, where a win would have served as encouragement for the rest of the season.
In injury time, £24 million Van Persie curled a free kick just a fraction too close to the wall, but it skimmed the aforementioned Nasri, and the path of the ball was just out of reach of Joe Hart, and three points was Ferguson’s. The Premier League victory saw the manager on his way, leaving Van Persie crushed after finally experiencing glory.
Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City, 20 September 2009
When Manchester United sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, there was plenty of speculation about how the club would replace him. Franck Ribery was mentioned as a potential target, and other high-profile players were considered. What was not expected was the injury-prone, ex-Newcastle striker and horse expert Michael Owen stepping up to claim the number seven shirt. Gabriel Obertan joined too, and Antonio Valencia arrived from Wigan as three players were given the chance to help United cope.
The game itself was fun enough, with United’s useless defence allowing the dangerous Craig Bellamy to grab a brace, and Darren Fletcher contributed the same. Wayne Rooney scored the other for United, as Carlos Tevez set up Gareth Barry. Tevez had left in messy circumstances, of course.
The Argentine joined United on a two-year loan, impressed hugely in his first season, and then found time on the pitch, and time to impress, tougher. He was certainly not at his best in the second campaign but the years to follow proved he had the mongrel essential to winning, and perhaps with more encouragement he would have helped United build rather than struggle without Ronaldo. Instead, City stumped up almost £50m to take him across the road, and they even got a funny little poster to put up to tease United about it. Dignity. Always dignity.
At 3-3, Owen intervened. Ryan Giggs played an exceptional ball with the outside of his left foot into the path of the ex-Liverpool man, who showed what remained - perhaps the very last sliver given his woeful performances there after - of his striking instinct, as he dinked the winner into the net. United had the three points, but Owen’s and Tevez’s respective presences showed who was now the club with a future.