How Many Times Has Man City Beat Man United?

Manchester City's challenge to Manchester United's Premier League-era supremacy has given the Manchester derby a new dimension during the last 20 years.

On June 3, 2023, they faced off in the FA Cup final, marking their first encounter in such a match. Pep Guardiola's City won 2-1, completing a triple that equaled their rivals' 1998–1999 feats.

Both Erik ten Hag and Guardiola returned to the Wembley climax a year later. With perhaps their most comprehensive performance of the season, United exacted retribution for the previous year by defeating the opposition 2-1 in the 2024 FA Cup final. In December 2024, the Red Devils won their first league derby of the season by the same score.

From 1992 to 2013, United amassed an incredible 13 top flight trophies, dominating the early Premier League era. City, however, wavered between divisions before becoming a dominant force in the top level.

The 2008 acquisition of City, supported by Abu Dhabi, changed the team's Mancunian rivalry and its standing as a European powerhouse. Guardiola's team is full of elite players, and since then, Manchester derbies have taken on a whole new look as the blue half of the city has seen an amazing run of consistent success.

The history of their meetings is examined in greater detail by Sporting News since the Manchester derby consistently results in an intense and story-filled 90 minutes or longer.

History of Man United vs. Man City

Their first encounter took place in 1881, little over a year after City was founded and three years after United was founded, making the Manchester derby one of the most enduring rivalries in English football.

The rivalry has remained fierce on both sides of the city despite their frequently divergent fortunes, and it is doubtful that City will catch up on total victories for at least another 10 years.

Since 1881, the two teams have faced off 195 times in all competitions, with United winning 80 of those encounters, City winning 61, and United drawing 54.

Premier League matchup between Man City and Man United

In the Premier League era, Manchester derbies may be roughly divided on either side of the 2008 boundary, with United dominating in the early going.

Up until 2002, United had an undefeated record against their crosstown rivals after eight straight victories and two draws. However, Shaun Goater made City history by scoring two goals to help City win their first Premier League title versus United at Maine Road.

The match before that, a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in April 2001, was remembered for all the wrong reasons when Roy Keane was sent off for a brutal challenge on Alf Inge Haaland, the father of current City hero Erling. Up until that moment, United had dominated with merciless efficiency.

Following Goater's involvement, City had sporadic stability, winning the penultimate derby before the 2008 takeover at Old Trafford after losing only two of the next seven Premier League games.

Michael Owen's last-minute goal in a thrilling 4-3 match in 2009 is among the most memorable goals of his career, and United continued to have derby fun despite the new cash infusion.

It wasn't until 2019–20, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, that United achieved the Premier League double against City, thanks to Paul Scholes' late header in the rematch.

After Guardiola moved to Manchester in 2016, things started to change steadily, and Wayne Rooney's 2011 bicycle-kick victory was one of United's final great derby moments.

From 2016 to 2019, Guardiola won four of his first six Premier League Manchester derbies. Erling Haaland's arrival has given City another dimension, albeit some back and forth.

In October 2022, City swept to a 6-3 victory at Etihad Stadium, and the Norwegian goal machine celebrated his Mancunian derby bow with a hat-trick. Since Andrei Kanchelskis in 1994, he was the first player to score three goals in a derby match. After a Phil Foden double set up a 3-1 victory at Etihad Stadium in March 2024, Haaland finished the scoring with a brace in City's 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in October 2023.

In the first league encounter of 2024–25, a mostly forgettable contest between two failing clubs ended dramatically as United scored twice late in the game to upset City on their own turf and put Pep Guardiola's squad on a winning streak of only one in 11 games across all competitions.

The FA Cup matchup between Man United and Man City

There haven't been many FA Cup matches between the two sides over the years. The first one took place in 1891, when City was still known as Ardwick AFC, and United triumphed 5-1.

In the 1925–26 season, City exacted retribution by defeating Bolton Wanderers in the final after winning 3-0 in the semifinals.

City defeated United in 1955 to maintain their stellar FA Cup derby record, but they lost 3-0 in the fourth round in 1970 to break their dominance.

As their trajectories started to diverge in the 1990s and early 2000s, United won the next three FA Cup matches. The two matches after 2008 were remarkable, with one victory apiece. Yaya Toure's goal in the 2011 semifinal put City on track for triumph and their first major title in thirty-five years.

Teenage sensations Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored goals to win 2-1 and take home the championship in their most recent match, which took place in the 2024 final. That exacted revenge on the Red Devils for their loss the year before, when City won 2-1 and took home the trophy thanks to two goals from Ilkay Gundogan outside the penalty area.

Man United vs. Man City trophies won

The disparity in overall trophies still favors United, but City's ascent is accelerating and they want to overtake United and Liverpool as the two most powerful teams in English football history.