45 Man City and United hooligans were injured in ‘running battles’ before derby

After years of sitting in their neighbours Manchester United's shadow, it would be fair to suggest whatever the outcome of the FA Cup final that Manchester City are the dominate force within the city.

Of course, in the modern era, United dominated the Premier League and European football throughout the 2000s and at the start of the 2010s.

However, that has all changed now, with Pep Guardiola's side poised to become the best team in Europe for the foreseeable future, handing Manchester City even greater bragging rights over their fierce rivals

READ MORE: Erling Haaland's Premier League transfer 'worst thing that's happened' to rugby lookalike

There was a time back in 1974 that City also held bragging rights over their city rivals too, when they beat United 1-0 at Old Trafford to relegate them from the First Division.

Thanks to Denis Law, an ex-United star who scored the only goal of the game, City sent their arch enemies down. The game even prompted United fans to rush onto the pitch to try and get the game cancelled but the result still stood.

And excepts from the book 'Guvnors', which is about City's hooligan firm from Michael Francis' perspective, detail the violence between the two sides, with one section of it revealing there were 45 people injured at Maine Road back in 1974.

Francis wrote: "The first serious trouble I remember was in 1974. We played at Maine Road in March. Forty-five people injured after running battles around the ground.

"The second game, on April 27, became famous. It was the last match of the season and if United lost they were relegated.

"I was only fourteen. I went with Donald and the boys and we were put in a corner, a little section at the front of the Scoreboard Paddock for the City fans, probably about 2,000 of us in a crowd of 57,000. I remember United singing, 'we've got you all surrounded.'

What did you make of the FA Cup final? Let us know in the comments section below.

"With seven minutes to go, Denis Law scored for us with a backheel. United poured on the pitch, trying to get the game called off.

"A policeman's lost his helmet and he's in some trouble, a policeman on the floor with three or four supporters on top, and then the wave of policemen come back again and they try to make some sort of sanity out of all this carnage … there's one boy being carried off, I see, in the arms of a policeman and another, at least three people being carried off.

"…but this game has been abandoned, the last that Manchester United will play in the First Division, certainly for one season, with the local club Manchester City. That's it then, that's the final scene at Old Trafford, a scene really of destruction and viciousness … the match was abandoned with three minutes to go but the result, 1-0 stood and United were down."

Source: Read Full Article