#2 Man United 1-6 Manchester City, 23rd October 2011
Though not one of the biggest margins of victory, the significance of this result in the history of the Manchester clubs cannot be underestimated.
Man United’s dominance of the Premier League era was coming to an end. The ‘noisy neighbours’ as Sir Alex Ferguson had named City during the previous campaign, were suddenly threatening to win the title.
It was only 0-1 at halftime, a Mario Balotelli stroked finish into the bottom corner, allowing the striker to calmly pull up his top to reveal a t-shirt bearing the words “Why Always Me?” A reference to the fact that he accidentally set off fireworks in his house that caused substantial damage.
The second half saw more problems for United. Evans who was enduring an awful afternoon, let Balotelli in behind him and ended up receiving a red card after hauling the Italian down.
Balotelli doubled his and City’s goals on 60 minutes after good work from Silva meant a square ball from James Milner left him with the easiest of finishes.
There followed a goal from Sergio Aguero, before Darren Fletcher pulled one back for the home side. This proved to be the only thing that United fans could cheer that day. Soon after, Edin Dzeko got City’s 4th before the excellent David Silva got the goal he deserved making it 5.
It was Dzeko again that completed the rout deep into ‘Fergie time’ with a low left-footed strike.
Though still early in the season, the result sent shockwaves through the Premier League and had a huge impact on one of the most amazing title races ever seen in Football.
The season finale - seeing Man City beat QPR 3-2 with literally the last kick of the game from Sergio Aguero – meant the sky blues won the title purely on goal difference from their neighbours and remains the closest finish ever in a Premier League title race.
