It was a minor, insignificant moment, but it revealed much about a mood and rivalry. In the 89th minute of October’s Premier League derby between Manchester City and United at the Etihad Stadium, City led United by a score of 6-2.
Previously, after Phil Foden had made the score 6-1 in the 73rd minute, joining Erling Haaland as a hat-trick scorer, City supporters had joked that they desired 10. Or they may not have been teasing. Now, shortly after United substitute Anthony Martial had equalized, City built in the midfield, but Joo Cancelo played a poor pass that was intercepted by the away team’s Bruno Fernandes. The home support could be heard groaning audibly.
To reiterate, City led 6-2 in the final minute. Their record win in this match is 6-1, which they obtained in 1926 and 2011. They had eliminated their most despised adversaries. And yet, when Cancelo gave the ball away, there was disappointment.
Perhaps it was merely an involuntary response. However, it was impossible to deny that the audience wanted more.
When Martial scored another consolation goal with a stoppage-time penalty to make the final score 6-3, it almost masked United’s disgrace. There were some City supporters who, deep down, were a little irritated by this.
This is what complete dominance looks like, which is why Pep Guardiola’s team is referred to as a machine and a juggernaut. Perhaps it is a result of the manager’s standards, his lack of contrition from game to game and from one phase of play to the next. Or perhaps the City fans, especially those under the age of 25, have become pampered.
There is no club over which City would rather command it, no opponent they would rather make suffer, and this sets the stage for Saturday’s inaugural all-Manchester FA Cup final. Guardiola would accept triumph by any means, regardless of the margin, and so would his players.
But as City seeks to complete step two of a potential treble, the final one, which only United under Sir Alex Ferguson has accomplished, there is a persistent plotline involving payback time. How United would put their opponents through the wringer during Ferguson’s lengthy tenure. Who better to defeat in the final if City is to emulate his Class of 1999, particularly if they can justify their hot favorite status and rub United’s noses in it?
On Saturday of this week, City will face Internazionale in the Champions League final, having won the domestic championship a fortnight prior.
United are buoyed by their 2-1 league victory over City at Old Trafford in January, as well as the overall positivism of their season under Erik ten Hag – Champions League qualification secured through a third-place finish; the Carabao Cup in the trophy case.
But there is a reason why the club’s all-time leading scorer, Wayne Rooney, wrote in his Sunday Times column that “there will be a lot of nerves in the red half of Manchester” This season, United has experienced a few harrowing implosions. And if any opponent is capable of escaping at any time, it is City.
Niall Quinn, who played for City from 1990 to 1996, believes United has the advantage in the final. “That is exactly how I would describe it,” says Quinn. The past few years have put City in a position where they no longer have to worry about United. United can show off their stature with a win in this match. Since my tenure at City, the situation has changed dramatically.”
Quinn can say that again. City’s 5-1 victory over United at Maine Road in 1989 was an epic victory for the club and its fans. Years later, it was merely referred to as the 5-1 in Manchester. However, it was their first Derby victory since 1981, and their next victory would not come until 2002.
After United won the triple in 1998-99, it was unthinkable for City to chase the treble.
That season, City battled to escape League One, which they did after defeating Gillingham in the playoff final penalty shootout. Two goals scored after the 89th minute forced extra time. United had defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Champions League final with two goals in stoppage time four days prior.
There were a few additional parallels. After finishing fifth in 1990-91 and 1991-92, Quinn attributes City’s decline in the Premier League and, subsequently, in the divisions to United’s dominance and the resulting atmosphere in the city. In his first season as manager, United finished sixth and second.
“I always think we would have been a fine team if United didn’t exist,” says Quinn. “We were headed in the correct direction, but it was the beginning of United’s golden era. No matter what we accomplished, we were looked down upon due to United’s success.
“The club exhibited some apprehension. We changed the managers and the proprietor [Peter Swales left in 1994, and Francis Lee took his place]. The entire event was unable to compete with what was occurring across the street. The club, the team, and the supporters lost confidence, and our collapse was quite spectacular.”
United won the 1994 Manchester derby 5-0 at Old Trafford, avenging the 5-1 loss. At moments, they looked like City.
Quinn recalls that Clayton Blackmore, who was not a member of the United squad that day, serenaded him as they made their way up the tunnel after their comeback victory at Maine Road in 1993, in which they overcame a 2-0 deficit to prevail 3-2.
“He slapped me on the cranium… ‘Blue Moon, you began singing too soon,’ he sang,” Quinn says. “I would occasionally encounter him on the golf course; he was an excellent golfer. Then you intend to seize him by the throat and smack him!”
Ferguson claimed Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leeds were United’s main opponents, dismissing City. Ferguson’s mentality shifted, however, after City was acquired by the Abu Dhabi Group in 2008. Even though the club had posted respectable results in the derby since 2002.
In the 2011 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, Manchester City defeated Manchester United 1-0 en route to winning their first trophy since 1976; the United supporters were compelled to take down the banner at Old Trafford that chronicled City’s years without a trophy. The record-tying 6-1 victory would occur at Old Trafford the following season.
Since the Abu Dhabi acquisition, Manchester City have won 17 derby matches to Manchester United’s 18, and since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, they have won 12 to United’s nine. City has finished ahead of United in the league for ten seasons, demonstrating development. At Wembley, they will go for the kill.
