Five unforgettable and glorious Manchester derbies
Manchester United and Manchester City will meet for the 175th time at Old Trafford on Sunday with a lot of attention on the strikers, especially City’s Sergio Aguero and Romelu Lukaku, who will be playing in his first derby for United.
We look at some notable clashes over the years.
Former Manchester United great Denis Law scored the 82nd-minute decider with an instinctive backheel but he remained motionless in front of the Old Trafford faithful, thinking he had condemned United to relegation from the top flight.
The result stood despite a pitch invasion in the final five minutes, but as it turned out United would have gone down to the second tier anyway after Birmingham City beat Norwich City in their final game of the campaign. Law, who scored 237 goals in 11 years at United, was draped in a United scarf by a fan soon after scoring and never played another competitive game for City.
United’s Eric Cantona often made headlines against City, scoring eight times in seven appearances, and so it proved again in a thrilling encounter at Maine Road.
United were wounded from a mid-week Champions League exit at Galatasaray and things looked like getting worse when, against the run of play, Niall Quinn fired two quick goals to give City a 2-0 halftime lead.
Cantona provided the inspiration for United’s comeback by finding the net twice after the interval, firstly latching onto a poor Michel Vonk header and again from a splendid first-time cross from Ryan Giggs.
Roy Keane completed the United fightback with a welltimed header at the back post.
United were pegged back three times by big-spending City before Michael Owen scored a 96th-minute winner to seal a famous victory.
City, having made £100m worth of summer signings, including former United striker Carlos Tevez, were banking on their fluid attacking style to collect a rare away derby victory.
Wayne Rooney broke the deadlock for United inside two minutes before Gareth Barry levelled for Mark Hughes’s side. Darren Fletcher headed home but the visitors equalised through Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy cancelled out another Fletcher goal before United’s free transfer signing Owen slotted home a late winner and his first goal at Old Trafford in a United jersey.
Hughes was sacked after City finished fifth in the league. He was replaced by Roberto Mancini, who eventually delivered the Premier League title.
City celebrated a landmark early-season victory at Old Trafford as they inflicted on United their worst home defeat since 1955, leaving then boss Alex Ferguson to rue “his worst ever day” in charge.
City were leading with goals from Mario Balotelli either side of the interval and were ruthless going forward after United had defender Jonny Evans sent off.
Aguero added the third for City and, even though Darren Fletcher pulled a goal back, a late surge by the visitors brought three more goals. The result sent shockwaves through the Premier League as City announced their title ambitions and offered emphatic evidence of a shift in power in Manchester.
City took control of the league title race with two games remaining, courtesy of a thumping Vincent Kompany header in a hotly contested derby at the Etihad Stadium.
United were lacklustre going forward and failed to get a shot on target.
United boss Alex Ferguson’s frustration boiled over in the closing stages when he confronted Roberto Mancini on the touchline after City substitute Nigel de Jong was booked for fouling Danny Welbeck.
The win took City top on goal difference, just three weeks after they trailed United by eight points. Mancini’s side lifted the title when Aguero grabbed a stoppage-time winner in the final game against Queens Park Rangers.