The Manchester Derby

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As we head towards the first Manchester Derby of the 2022/23 Premier League season, we can look back at what has happened previously between Manchester City and Manchester United.

The Manchester Derby can be traced back to the 1880s and the first meeting between Manchester City and Manchester United took place on the 12th of November 1881.

The teams were playing under different names in those days, with St. Mark’s (West Gorton) playing Newton Heath LYR. The former would later become known as Manchester City, with the latter becoming Manchester United.

Newton Heath came out on top, winning the match 3-0 but at the time, the game and result had little significance outside of the two groups of players.

Fast forward to 2022 and things have changed immensely. The Manchester Derby is now one of the biggest games, not only in English football but around the world.

Interestingly, as we look at the results between the teams in league games, Manchester United have the superior record, even when playing away.

When the Manchester Derby has been played at the home of Manchester City, the hosts have won 27 times but Manchester United have 31 victories to their name.

When the derby has been played at the home of Manchester United, the Red Devils have won 34 times compared to the 22 victories for Manchester City.

So, Manchester United hold the upper hand in the league and in the 50 Premier League fixtures between the teams to date, Manchester United have won 24 times compared to the 17 wins for Manchester City.

If we take every English domestic competition, there have been 187 games in total and Manchester United have won 77 of those matches, with 57 wins for Manchester City.

In recent times, Manchester City have been dominant in the Premier League in terms of titles but they have not had a firm grip on the Manchester Derby.

Manchester City have won 3 of the last 4 matches in all competitions but in terms of the Premier League, they have won 2 of the last 6 matches.

Manchester United have won 3 of those 6 games, so there has been little to split them over the past few seasons in the Premier League.

In terms of individual performances, Wayne Rooney is the all time top goal scorer in the Manchester Derby, with 11 goals to his name.

He is closely followed by Joe Hayes and Francis Lee, who both scored 10 goals for Manchester City. Sergio Agüero and Bobby Charlton scored 9 goals apiece and there are no current players who are likely to threaten Rooney’s record of 11 goals.

There have been many players over the years who have played for both teams. The most recent example being Jadon Sancho, who left Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund and returned to England with Manchester United.

Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Andy Cole, Terry Cooke, Peter Schmeichel, and Andrei Kanchelskis are some of the other players to have represented both clubs, with Denis Law perhaps being the most famous thanks to his goal against Manchester United as they were relegated from the First Division.