Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Manchester United is the 159th Bloodthirsty meeting between the two clubs, except the rivalry has been interrupted by periods of co-operation, the unpleasantness ebbing and curving with their fluctuating fortune.
City is in quest of their first major trophy since 1976, while United have been dependable collectors of silverware, predominantly over the last two decades under Sir Alex Ferguson. He may relish put down newly-rich City as the ‘noisy neighbors’, save for it wasn’t always that way in Manchester.
Indeed, prior to World War II, United were the poorer relations of Manchester football.
Early days and the Edwardian era
The first association derby was in 1894–95, when Newton Heath (later United) beat Manchester City 5–2 at Hyde Road in the Second Division; their first top-flight gathering came in December 1906, City captivating 3-0.
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