The first Manchester derby was played in November 1881, when Newton Heath beat St Mark’s of West Gorton 3-0. More than 190 competitive meetings have followed, and a small number of goals have done more than settle an afternoon.
They confirmed relegations, decided title races and, in one case, sent the scorer trudging off without celebrating. Anyone checking the Man Utd vs Man City odds ahead of the next one is looking at a fixture whose history is largely written in single moments. These five stand above the rest.
Denis Law’s backheel, 1974
Law scored 237 goals for United before a free transfer took him across the city in the summer of 1973. On 27 April 1974, he returned to Old Trafford in a City shirt and, with nine minutes left, flicked a backheel past Alex Stepney for the only goal of the game. He did not celebrate. His teammates tried to lift him, he shook them off, and he was substituted straight away.
The story that has attached itself to the goal is that it relegated United. It did not. Birmingham’s win over Norwich the same afternoon meant United were down whatever happened at Old Trafford. Supporters invaded the pitch, the match was abandoned with minutes remaining, and the result was allowed to stand. His last professional game was against Oldham Athletic, where United won 2-1, and he officially retired on 26 August 1974.
Michael Owen’s late winner, 2009
United 4-3 City, 20 September 2009. Four minutes of added time were shown at the end of the second half, and the winner arrived in the sixth. Ryan Giggs slid the pass through, Owen took it in his stride and finished past Shay Given. Craig Bellamy had equalised for City six minutes earlier.
Owen had joined on a free transfer that summer, a signing read at the time as sentiment rather than planning. Mark Hughes spent much of the following week on the subject of the clock. United still finished the season a point behind Chelsea, which is worth remembering before the goal is credited with too much.
Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick, 2011
Nani had put United ahead, David Silva had levelled, and 78 minutes were gone when a cross took a deflection and looped up behind Rooney. He turned, jumped and hooked it over his shoulder into the top corner. Joe Hart did not move.
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It won the Premier League Goal of the Season and was later voted the best goal of the competition’s first 20 years. The 2-1 win kept United top, and they closed out 2010-11 as champions for a 19th time, one clear of Liverpool’s record. Rooney had handed in a transfer request four months before he scored it, But ended up signing a new five-year contract on 22 October 2010, two days after the statement.
Vincent Kompany’s header, 2012
City went into the derby of 30 April 2012 three points behind United with three games left. In first-half stoppage time at the Etihad, David Silva swung in a corner, Kompany got in front of Chris Smalling and headed down past David De Gea.
Nothing else was scored. The win put City top on goal difference, and they took the title on the final day against Queens Park Rangers, 44 years after their previous league championship. Few single headers have been worth as much.
Ilkay Gundogan’s volley, 2023
The 2023 FA Cup final was the first ever contested by the two Manchester clubs. Gundogan settled any question of whether City would treat it as a distraction inside 12 seconds, meeting a cleared header on the volley from the edge of the area, the fastest goal in the history of the fixture’s showpiece final.
FT 🔵 Man City 2-1 Man Utd 🔴
Manchester City win the first Manchester derby #FACupFinal thanks to two goals from captain Ilkay Gundogan.
One step closer to the treble… 🏆 🏆#MCIMUN | #MCFC pic.twitter.com/SVSwCojsN1
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 3, 2023
He scored again in the second half, Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty, and City won 2-1. Seven days later they beat Inter in Istanbul to complete the treble.
What links the five
Four of them decided something concrete: a relegation season, two title races and a cup final. The fifth, Rooney’s, settled only three points and is the one replayed most often. That mix is why a football bet on this fixture rarely turns on the league table alone. City’s 6-1 at Old Trafford in October 2011 remains the biggest winning margin in a Premier League derby, and it did not make this list. Betting is for over-18s only.