da dobrowin： Saturday’s Manchester derby is the 176th meeting between bitter rivals City and United and could go down in history as the day when the blue half of the city clinched the title with a victory against the red half.
da fazobetai： Jose Mourinho’s task is to spoil the title party – in a similar way to how he did as Chelsea manager at Anfield during the 2013/14 season – and while it is one he will surely relish, Pep Guardiola’s men are surely heavy favourites.
The Citizens have had their confidence bumped by the 3-0 thumping at the hands of the only side United dislike more than them – Liverpool – and Red Devils fans will hope that their side can capitalise on Saturday.
With Mourinho likely to send his side out to stifle their hosts, this one might not be a classic but we’ve taken a closer look at five of the best moments from this fixture over the past ten years.
Read on to see which five we’ve gone for…
This one simply had to make the list. Rooney’s masterpiece came at a time when City were still yet to win a Premier League title and it was only at the end of this season that they would win the first trophy of the nouveau-riche era; an FA Cup triumph over Stoke, having seen off United in the semis.
This was a bolt from the blue that stunned City, who actually dominated for much of the game. It really felt at this stage that, no matter what Roberto Mancini’s side did, United would always find a way to keep their noses in front.
What more can be said about the goal? It is a work of pure instinct, a strike that many players might attempt given the position of the ball but so few could execute, given the speed of adaptation and thought required to pull it off.
Arguably Rooney’s best career goal.
City’s FA Cup glory the previous season had whet their appetite to chase the big prize – the Premier League – and this result was a watershed moment in pursuit of United.
Mancini’s men had looked like a team on the rise for a while as Sir Alex Ferguson’s United clawed onto the upper hand in the city but this was the day when the blue half of Manchester overtook the red half quite emphatically.
United, down to 10 men after Jonny Evans’ red card early in the second half, received a chasing from their visitors. At 3-0 down, Darren Fletcher pulled a goal back and a belief briefly arose that Ferguson’s men could pull off a legendary comeback.
They couldn’t, of course, and three goals in the last 10 minutes completed a humbling afternoon for United. City eventually won the league by eight goals on goal difference so the ten-goal differential won them the league. This result could not have been more costly.
Interestingly, the two sides met in the third round of the FA Cup that season too. United were three goals and a man up at half-time and, at that stage, it felt like they might conceivably avenge the 6-1. It wasn’t to be.
Mancini proved more tactically astute at 10 men than Ferguson had, converting to a three-man defence as his side pulled two goals back. United were panicking at 3-2, which was yet another sign of superiority from the blue half in the long chase to overhaul their bitter rivals.
This was probably the most entertaining Manchester derby – for the neutral – in recent memory.
United took the lead three times, thanks to Wayne Rooney and a Darren Fletcher double but Gareth Barry and a brace from Craig Bellamy, including a goal in the 90th minute, ensured the game was level going into stoppage time.
As Mark Hughes raged on the touchline about the amount of ‘Fergie time’ being added on, Ryan Giggs produced a sensational pass to pick out substitute Michael Owen unmarked in the penalty area.
The striker’s pace had all but gone by this stage but his finishing was as accurate as ever. Old Trafford erupted as their side had managed to silence the ‘noisy neighbours’ for a little while longer.
Nine years on, it is certainly City calling the tune now. A genuine title-decider from the last proper Premier League title race. Many thought this Saturday’s game might prove to be a similar type of deal-breaker, between two title contenders neck-and-neck going into the final weeks of the season – but that has not looked like being the case since the early weeks of the season.
This was arguably the most tense derby in recent times; United knew they could maintain their lead at the summit with a draw and played like it, with Park Ji Sung brought in to stifle the City midfield.
One goal was enough to settle it and United never looked like scoring after Vincent Kompany’s bullet header – leaving Chris Smalling trailing in his wake – put City ahead in the first half.
This victory made Premier League glory feel almost inevitable for Mancini’s men and the tide was well and truly turning…
During the same season as the 4-3 epic, the duo faced off in the semi-finals of the League Cup. United were the holders, having beaten Tottenham to clinch the trophy in 2009.
City, as we’ve already seen, saw their investment unrewarded by silverware until 2011 and this was as close as they came up to that point.
Carlos Tevez, who was at the centre of an acrimonious cross-city transfer the previous summer, hit a double in the first leg to ensure that City made the trip to his former stomping ground with a narrow 2-1 lead.
And, after midfielders Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes had put United 2-0 up in the second half, it was an impudent flick from Tevez that made it 2-1. That looked to have the match on course for extra time but there was to be more stoppage-time drama.
In the 92nd minute, Wayne Rooney, enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career – as a lone striker – bagged a header to spark euphoria in the stands at the Theatre of Dreams once more and crush City’s dreams of a first Wembley final for 29 years.