Manchester City hit United for 6 again yesterday, provoking memories of their famous 6-1 victory in Old Trafford in 2011. This result in 2011 was the start of a decade of dominance for Manchester City in which victory against local rivals is almost guaranteed.
Ten years ago, a City victory was a surprise, now it's a staple.
A decade of dominance for Manchester City
Manchester City's 6-1 win in 2011 set the story for the next decade, with United falling far behind their local rivals after the retirement of Alex Ferguson. Ten years and six managers later, United are still yet to prove themselves as a consistent threat.
With occasional United victories in the derby referred to as 'upsets', the gulf between the two clubs has never been bigger. Since that day in 2011 Manchester City have won six premier league titles and have finished in the top two nine times in the past ten years. In contrast, United have just one league title since then, coming in Alex Ferguson's last season.
During Alex Ferguson's reign, United won the majority of Manchester derbys, with defeat a rarity. The drop off in competition between the two clubs is summed up by a brilliant line from Guy Mowbray who highlights the fact that Man City are now always favourites to win the Manchester Derby
“He said not in my lifetime, now it’s every time”
Superb bit of commentary work from Guy Mowbray on Match of the Day pic.twitter.com/0pvonEJg28— City Report Podcast (@cityreportpod) October 2, 2022
Fergie dropped the now-famous quote during a press conference in 2009. Here's how Ian Herbert explained it to Independent readers in 2009:
Someone had asked him whether Manchester United will ever go into a derby match as underdogs and for 15 seconds or more he eyed his inquisitor, the hint of a glint in those narrow eyes, and you wondered whether that individual or Manchester City would be on the receiving end of the full force of his opinion. "What time is it?" he said, at last. "I think it is time for me to leave." And as he clambered from his seat, an answer to that question... "Not in my lifetime."
READ HERE: 'I Can't Believe How Bad Man United Have Been'
Manchester City humble United
Coming into the match, many had predicted a close contest considering United's impressive form in September. Erik Ten Haag's team had won four league matches in a row before yesterday, with the Dutchman winning Manager of the Month and Marcus Rashford finding form to win player of the month.
Many were arguing that this could be the closest Man United have been to City in years. When the team lineups were announced, United fans were filled with even more confidence as Ruben Dias, John Stones and Rodri were all missing from the match day squad. Pundits were predicting a United victory... you know the rest.
Team News hint 🙏 pic.twitter.com/6njrHVnsvB
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) October 2, 2022
Any hope of a United victory was quickly abandoned after an eighth minute opener from Phil Foden, who capitalised on United's poor marking.
With ten minutes until half time, it looked as if United were going to ride their luck and go into the break only one goal behind. However, clinical goals from Phil Foden and the inevitable Erling Haaland saw the scoreline read 4-0 in the 44th minute.
Manchester United's new signing Antony scored a sublime goal in the 56th minute that only proved to anger Manchester City, who went on to score twice more, with Haaland and Foden both registering hat-tricks. Haaland recorded a third consecutive home hat-trick to bring his goal tally up to 17 from just 11 games.
Consolation goals from United's Anthony Martial saw the match finish 6-3, a scoreline that flattered the visitors in what was an utter demolition.
The first player in #PL history to score a hat-trick in three successive home matches 👏
Take a bow, @ErlingHaaland #MCIMUN pic.twitter.com/c8PA4L8u4C— Premier League (@premierleague) October 2, 2022
This is a huge setback for Manchester United, who will need to bounce back in Thursday's Europa League clash with Omonia before travelling to Goodison next Sunday.
Just as things were looking promising for United, Sunday's humiliation at the hands of Manchester City puts into perspective the difference between the two clubs.
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