Source: Daily_Mail
Manchester United v Manchester City, top 5 games - Friday Five
The Manchester derby is always an intense battle and Saturday's FA Cup semi-final is another mouthwatering fixture. [LNB]As the rivals prepare to lock horns once again, Sportsmail looks back at five epic clashes between the old rivals. [LNB] City 3 United 3 (November 1971) United were top of the table and City third ahead of this closely-fought thriller. The home side came back from 2-0 down in front of a Maine Road crowd of 63,000 and later finished the season four places above United. Sammy McIlroy scored on his United debut (aged just 17), with Alan Gowling and Brian Kidd adding two more. But City recovered through a Francis Lee penalty and stunning goals from Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee. [LNB] Whizkid: Sammy McIlroy (right) scores past Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan[LNB]United 0 City 1 (April 1974) Denis Law gave City the win with a cheeky backheel into the net. But the former United man was devastated, thinking it would lead to his old team's relegation to Division Two. In fact, they would have gone down no matter what the result had been, thanks to Birmingham's victory on the same day. Law was substituted straight afterwards, as delighted fans poured on to the pitch, and he never played another professional game. [LNB] Cheeky: Denis Law (second left) scores with a backheel against his former club[LNB]City 5 United 1 (September 1989) Sir Alex Ferguson called this match his 'most embarrassing' defeat. As tempers frayed and fights broke out in the crowd, the players had to be leave the pitch briefly early on, and a floundering United were 3-0 down at half-time after goals from David Oldfield, Trevor Morley and Ian Bishop. Mark Hughes pulled one back with a brilliant bicycle kick, but City completed the rout through Oldfield and Andy Hinchcliffe's fantastic header.[LNB] Delight: Andy Hinchcliffe celebrates battering their neighbours[LNB] [LNB]United 5 City 0 (November 1994) The rivalry became markedly one-sided in the Nineties, and City did not win a single derby over the decade. Brian Horton's men were utterly humbled by this hammering at Old Trafford, as Eric Cantona opened the scoring with a magnificent goal. Mark Hughes scored another before an Andrei Kanchelskis hat-trick rounded off the victory. United went on to win the Double. [LNB] Five-star: Steve Bruce (left) and Eric Cantona enjoy humiliating City[LNB]United 4 City 3 (September 2009) The teams had become more evenly matched again, and both kept the heat on in a tense encounter that followed Carlos Tevez's defection from Old Trafford to Eastlands. United went ahead three times through Wayne Rooney and two from Darren Fletcher, but Gareth Barry and Craig Bellamy (twice) levelled. Michael Owen struck the winner for United seconds ahead of the final whistle in what Ferguson called the 'best Manchester derby ever'. [LNB] Late show: Michael Owen celebrates scoring the winning goal at Old Trafford[LNB] Tevez ruled out for up to a month in blow to City's Champions League questMan City are obsessed with winning silverware, insists Vidic ahead of clashAll the latest Manchester City news, features and opinionAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Craig Bellamy, Brian Kidd, Denis Law, Michael Owen, Mark Hughes, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry Places: Birmingham, Manchester
