Manchester United's Best Derby Moments: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Manchester United play Manchester City on Saturday in what will be the first chapter in a new saga for this old rivalry.

Managers Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have an infamous history that has been imported into Manchester. As a consequence, this derby feels like the most significant for a while. Given that, and the sense of new history being written, it seemed a good time to ask some Reds for their favourite memories of games gone by against the Blues.

In chronological order, let's take a look at what they said.

The game to which Liz refers happened on November 6, 1971. It was indeed the debut of then 17-year-old Sammy McIlroy. According to the club's website, McIlroy scored one of United's three and assisted the other two.

As Ed Barker of fan site United Rant wrote in 2010: "Brian Kidd and John Aston also netted for the Reds in a classic early-’70s encounter."

Going into the game, United were top and City were third, a reminder that the Sheikh Mansour era is not the first time the Manchester derby has been contested on equal footing. The point City earned from their comeback proved crucial, as they finished above United that season.

However, the red shirts and the magic of Sammy Mac earned United at least one lifelong fan that day.

For Reds of a certain age, thinking about the November 1993 derby is a great way to bring about goosebumps. United, champions of England the season prior, were 2-0 down at half-time—not that they deserved to be, according to then-manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

After the game, Ferguson said, per the club's official website: "Being 2-0 down was a travesty. We played well but made mistakes and were punished. In the second half, we were superb!"

Breaking City hearts with late winners at Maine Road and the Etihad Stadium became a habit under Sir Alex. This was a fine example.

Eric Cantona had scored a second-half brace to level the game. His second was a beauty. It began with him receiving the ball a little way into City's half.

His driving run featured an unusual dribbling style, as he essentially juggled the ball at top speed before laying off a pass.

A few passes later, and the ball was on the right in the care of a 19-year-old Ryan Giggs. The Welshman's low, inswinging left-footed cross found Cantona at the far post, and the United end—and a fair few in the City section—celebrated wildly.

Not as wildly as they did for Roy Keane's 86th-minute winner, however. After scoring, Keane dived to the ground, then stood up, face full of fury and righteous indignation. It had been a red-blooded affair, and Keane clearly felt justice had been done when he won the game for United.

Just over a year later, there was another memorable derby win.

In 1989, City beat United 5-1. Younger fans will be familiar with the feeling thanks to the 6-1 drubbing at Old Trafford in 2011. But just as Robin van Persie's star turn in the 2012/13 season—of which there'll be more later—eased the pain of the 6-1, so too Andrei Kanchelskis' hat-trick in a 5-0 win made the 5-1 seem like a distant memory.

United missed out on the Premier League title by a point that season, but the 5-0 triumph meant Manchester's bragging rights were well and truly held by the Reds.

By September 2009, the balance of power in Manchester had begun to shift. Following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure and Sir Alex's relative lack of investment in his squad, the fear that City would catch United was real—and eventually came to pass.

But the Reds were not ready to roll over just yet. A barnstorming derby gave Michael Owen his one great moment in a United shirt. His Liverpool links before his time at Old Trafford meant he was always unlikely to be a crowd favourite, but he ensured his name was enshrined in United folklore with this one.

United took the lead three times. Three times City pegged them back. The third—a 90th-minute Craig Bellamy goal that came as the result of a Rio Ferdinand error—looked fatal. Instead, in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Giggs slipped a through ball into Owen, and the rest is history. Glorious, infinitely memorable history.

Three times in the same season is just cruel. The reverse league fixture that season took place in April 2010 at what was then known as the City of Manchester Stadium. City were after a place in the Champions League, and United were desperate not to let Chelsea get out of sight in the race for the title.

In the end, Chelsea hung on, but on that April afternoon, City did not. After two minutes of injury time, it was still 0-0. By the end of the third minute of injury time, Gary Neville was kissing Paul Scholes on the lips as United had broken City hearts yet again.

The header was indeed perfectly placed. And, as had happened so often, it was also perfectly timed.

It is hard to add anything to what has been said about Wayne Rooney's magical goal against City at Old Trafford in February 2011. It came shortly after his reintegration into United's side following his controversial attempt to leave the club.

Jon Super/Associated Press

United were battling to win back a league title they had lost to Chelsea the previous season.

The strike was a moment of absolute brilliance from one of United's finest-ever players. No one who saw it will ever forget it.

"

@UtdRantcast Aside from the obvious, Nani in the Community Shield. Embarrassed Kompany and won us a trophy/cup/big shield plate thing.

— Danny (@Dan_B94) September 7, 2016"

A personal favourite, Nani's goals in the 2011 Community Shield ensured another United comeback.

It was typical of United's start to that season. As unbelievable as it sounds, a midfield partnership of Anderson and Tom Cleverley had the Red Devils playing some of their most dynamic, attacking football in a while.

An injury against Bolton Wanderers a few games into the season put Cleverley out of action for several months, and he was never quite the same player once he returned. It is fair to say City had the last laugh in 2011/12, but for a brief moment in the Wembley Stadium sunshine, United's season promised a great deal.

What a magical moment it was. United were back at the start of the 2012/13 campaign. They went into this derby three points ahead, and though it was only December 2012, beating City, the reigning champions, at the Etihad offered a real statement of intent.

For the first half, United were brilliant. A Rooney brace gave them a 2-0 lead. In the second, City fought back. Their goals came from Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta, but their whole team had clicked. United defended wave after wave of attack.

After the 90 minutes were up, though, some of that old magic returned. Van Persie, already talismanic for the Red Devils in spite of being such a new arrival, confirmed that status with a free-kick winner. City's wall should have done a lot better, but no one in red cared.

It took a long time for the league title to be officially confirmed, but that was the day the damage was done. An injury-time winner against City had a very familiar feel.

The frustrations of the Louis van Gaal era were many, but toward the end, a bright light emerged. Marcus Rashford's winner at the Etihad last season did not come in the last minute. It did not swing the tide of the season or win United a trophy.

It did, however, further highlight the teenager's fearlessness, his outstanding technical ability and his eye for goal. He had previously scored on his European and Premier League debuts, so of course he scored in his first Manchester derby. Rashford suddenly seemed the real deal.

Rashford's presence means this kind of optimism is inevitable. There are no guarantees for Saturday's derby, but the next couple of years will no doubt provide some extraordinary moments—for both sides.

After all, the history of this fixture always has.