History in Brief: Manchester City's Biggest Victories of Derby Days Past

The streets of Manchester were ringing with "Blue Moon" this weekend after a white-hot Manchester City defeated crosstown rivals Manchester United by a resounding score of 6-1 at Old Trafford. Spurred by goals from a resurgent Mario Balotelli, Edin Džeko, David Silva and Sergio Agüero (the last three scored in the last five minutes of the match), City emerged from today at the top of Premiership and asserted themselves as the team to beat in the title race.

It was also the Red Devils' largest defeat at Old Trafford since 1955 and the largest margin of victory in a derby day win in more than two decades: The last time they came close was a 5-1 routing of United at Maine Road in 1989 with David Oldfield, Trevor Morley, Ian Bishop and Andy Hinchcliffe scoring for the men in blue. 

It was a different game in '89, a bit rougher around the edges in form and in fan base. The match had to be temporarily stopped in the opening few minutes as unrest built on the terraces as United supporters were given tickets in the heart of the home fans' territory, which led to brawling in the stands.

After the crowds were settled and football resumed, City got the ball rolling (literally) with a power punt from Andy Hinchcliffe which found David White. White slid the ball to David Oldfield, who seized the opportunity on a missed Gary Pallister slide tackle and found the goal. You can hear in the footage in the video just how electric the environment was at Maine Road. How anyone can play with that roar in their ears is still somewhat mystifying. 

As it was today, a creative, cohesive attack (coupled with defensive woes on the part of United) was at the centre of City's victory. The interactions between double-scoring midfielder David Oldfield and the effective wide man David White looked somewhat like the one-two punch of Mario Balotelli and James Milner, who linked up to create that first goal today which set the wheels in motion for City's victory. 

City's victory today was their first win at Old Trafford since 2008 (before that, they hadn't won at United's ground since 1974) and their largest margin since a 5-0 victory at the Red Devils' ground on the February 12th, 1955, with Paddy Fagan and Joe Hayes among those giving a then-inexperienced "Busby Babes" squad a high-volume hiding.

Also among the figures instrumental at City that season were Don Revie, at the centre of City's now-iconic "Revie Plan" popular through the early-to-mid 1950s, in which he was used as a deep-lying centre-forward, and goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, a former Luftwaffe paratrooper, initially met in England with scorn but who eventually won fans over with his attack-minded tactics. Both teams would go on to finish in the top half of the first division: United in fifth, City in eighth, and the "Busby Babes" would go on to seize the first division title the next two seasons. 

Let's take it back even further. The last time this weekend's result was seen in a Manchester derby was on January 23rd, 1926, also a victory for City at Old Trafford. City struggled at some points in the season and excelled in others—they were relegated in the end (United finished in the top half), but were also in the FA Cup final that year (losing 1-0 to Bolton Wanderers). It was the highest-scoring victory in a derby for the Citizens until this weekend. 

With today's win at Old Trafford fresh, watch these highlights from a vintage Manchester derby victory, and decide for yourself how today's team compares to the City side of yesteryear. Also, let us rejoice in the totally '80s kits.