Man United Extend Manchester Derby Head-to-Head Lead — but Who Is Ahead Since Man City’s Abu Dhabi Takeover?

Manchester United won the 198th Manchester derby by beating Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu delivered a deserved victory for the Red Devils, who had a further three goals disallowed for offside at Old Trafford.

The result saw Michael Carrick’s second spell as Man United interim head coach get off to a perfect start, as well as boosting United’s hopes of achieving their target of Champions League qualification.

Meanwhile, City’s fourth winless Premier League game in a row further enhanced Arsenal’s status as title favourites.

It also saw United extend their winning head-to-head record over City in all-time Manchester derby history.

Manchester United vs Manchester City head-to-head record

Manchester United	Metric	Manchester City
198	Games played	198
81	Wins	62
55	Draws	55
280	Goals scored	278

All-time competitive Manchester derby record across all competitions (1891–2026).

All-time Manchester derby record: United now lead by 19 wins

Following their latest victory, United have now recorded 19 more wins than City in Manchester derbies.

Since their first-ever meeting in 1891, Man United have beaten City 81 times. Meanwhile, City have defeated United — who are top of the all-time Premier League table — on 62 occasions.

There have been 55 draws between the two Manchester giants.

The two neighbours have met 174 times in the league — including 58 Premier League clashes — as well as facing off 11 times in the FA Cup, 10 times in the League Cup and three times in the Community Shield. There has yet to be a Manchester derby in a European competition.

Manchester derby head-to-head record by competition

Competition	Games	Man City wins	Draws	Man Utd wins
Premier League	58	21	10	27
First Division	104	30	39	35
Second Division	12	2	4	6
FA Cup	11	4	0	7
League Cup	10	5	1	4
Community Shield	3	0	1	2

Man United retake aggregate lead on goals scored

Despite Man United being 18 wins ahead of Man City in their all-time head-to-head going into Saturday’s game, the two clubs were remarkably tied when it came to goals scored in Manchester derbies, with 278 apiece.

However, United’s 2-0 victory means that they now lead City 280–278 on aggregate.

The reason the aggregate is so close despite United being 19 wins ahead is partly because City have come out on top in three of the four derbies in which the winning margin has been five goals.

City have twice won 6–1 away at United — first in 1926 and again in 2011. City also thrashed United 5–0 at Old Trafford in 1955, although United beat them by the same margin in 1994.

Meanwhile, City also won the highest-scoring Manchester derby of all time as recently as October 2022, when Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both bagged hat-tricks in a 6–3 triumph at the Etihad Stadium.

Premier League head-to-head

When exclusively looking at Manchester derbies in the Premier League, United are now ahead by 27 wins to 21, while there have been 10 draws.

However, City lead United 84–81 in terms of goals scored in Premier League derbies.

City on top in Manchester derbies since the Abu Dhabi takeover

The footballing landscape in Manchester has changed dramatically since Man City were taken over by the ironically named Abu Dhabi United Group in September 2008.

Having spent much of the previous two decades watching Man United dominate English football — and Manchester derbies — City have fared much better during Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s reign.

Of the 47 Manchester derbies played since City’s current owners arrived, the Sky Blues still hold the edge. Both clubs now have 21 wins each, but City have outscored United by 77 goals to 61 across all competitions.

City’s dominance has been even stronger in the past few years. Despite Saturday’s defeat, Pep Guardiola’s men have won seven of the last 13 Manchester derbies and lost only four.

Recent Manchester derby results

Date	Competition	Result
Jan 2026	Premier League	Man Utd 2–0 Man City
Sep 2025	Premier League	Man City 3–0 Man Utd
Apr 2025	Premier League	Man Utd 0–0 Man City
Dec 2024	Premier League	Man City 1–2 Man Utd
Aug 2024	Community Shield	Man City 1–1 Man Utd
May 2024	FA Cup	Man City 1–2 Man Utd
Mar 2024	Premier League	Man City 3–1 Man Utd
Oct 2023	Premier League	Man Utd 0–3 Man City
Jun 2023	FA Cup	Man City 2–1 Man Utd
Jan 2023	Premier League	Man Utd 2–1 Man City
Oct 2022	Premier League	Man City 6–3 Man Utd
Mar 2022	Premier League	Man City 4–1 Man Utd
Nov 2021	Premier League	Man Utd 0–2 Man City

How long until City overtake United as Manchester’s all-time top team?

Football is famously tough to predict, but should both clubs continue performing as they have in recent years, then it is surely just a matter of time before Man City move ahead of Man United in the all-time Manchester derby head-to-head based purely on matches won.

However, it would be a big surprise if City were to better United’s all-time record within the next decade. That is because City now need at least 20 more wins, and the clubs only play each other two or three times in most seasons.

Meanwhile, City will need more than a decade to overtake United in terms of top-flight league titles. City currently have 10 and remain 10 behind United, despite the Red Devils not having been champions of England since 2013.