Manchester United and City: Two Different Stories in the Premier League

It's derby weekend in Manchester again, and as always happens before these games, the bar argument kicks off: who has more history, United or City? The short answer is that both clubs have plenty to boast about, and the long answer comes with numbers worth revisiting before kickoff.

Let's start with United, still the most decorated club in Premier League history even though it has been a while since they lifted the trophy. They have 13 titles in the cabinet, all won under Sir Alex Ferguson, between 1992/93 and 2012/13. City trails close behind with 8, but that tally hasn't moved in more than a decade, something Old Trafford still enjoys pointing out.

Then there are the defensive feats. United's 2020/21 side finished the Premier League season unbeaten away from home, a feat only Arsenal had managed before, and twice at that (2001/02 and 2003/04). Between February 2020 and September 2021, United put together a run of 29 games unbeaten on the road, a mark no other team has matched. Going further back, in 1994/95 United conceded just four goals at Old Trafford all season, though that campaign ended in second place after Blackburn snatched the title. On the less flattering side of the ledger, United also shows up twice among the three heaviest defeats in Premier League history: the 9-0 loss to Ipswich in 1995 and the identical scoreline against Southampton in 2021, both at Old Trafford.

City's Records All Bear Guardiola's Stamp

Across town, City built their own golden era. In 2024 they became the first team to win four straight league titles in England (2020/21 through 2023/24), something no club had ever done before. That streak ended in 2025, when they finished third behind Liverpool and Arsenal, well short of a fifth consecutive crown.

But City hold marks that are even harder to repeat. In 2017/18 they reached 100 points in a single season, a total no other club has matched before or since, and that same campaign they finished with 106 goals scored, with names like De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Sterling leading the way. On their way to that title they strung together 18 consecutive wins between August and December of 2017, a run Klopp's Liverpool would match two years later, and they won 32 games in a single season, something only City themselves (twice) and that Liverpool side have ever managed.

With all that history on the table, this weekend's derby once again brings face to face two stories that, each in its own way, have left their mark on the Premier League.