Denis Law's backheel, Wayne Rooney's bicycle, Owen makes it 4-3, 'Why Always Me?' It's hard to pick just one standout moment from the 190 Manchester derbies that have ever taken place, but for Lou Macari, there is one that is still fresh in his memory.
The day Greater Manchester police were called into Manchester United's dressing room to stop him from playing. The 1973/74 season is best remembered for the aforementioned Old Trafford meeting, in which United legend Law scored a cheeky goal that didn't actually relegate his beloved side. ----- The reverse fixture isn't as well remembered, if at all, by most supporters, but it did bring another forgotten derby moment at Maine Road.
Even ahead of the match, United manager Tommy Docherty claimed it would be that meeting at City's intimidating old ground that would dictate their future in the division. "Tonight’s game is one which decides our fate," he wrote in the match programme. "City’s League Cup defeat is a big anti-climax for them and could help our fight for First Division survival." United would go on to be relegated from the First Division at the end of the season, but a month earlier they made the visit to their local rivals, who were parading expensive debutants Dennis Tueart and Micky Horswill in the match. "Talk about a baptism of fire," Tueart recalled in his autobiography. "There were over 50,000 fans shoe-horned into every corner of Maine Road that night, and the din was unbelievable throughout. "But even through the racket, every time I ventured near the United dugout I could hear Tommy Docherty and his assistant Tommy Cavanagh urging United defenders Jim Holton and Alex Forsyth, in fact any United players who got near me, to “break his legs”.